


A Beautiful and Terrible Thing

by Feathersong



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter RPF, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Cinnamon Roll Scorpius Malfoy, Coming Out, Fluff, Harry Potter Next Generation, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter, Mutual Pining, POV Albus Severus Potter, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Scorbus, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter Fluff, badass mum ginny weasley takes no prisoners, dork dad harry potter rises, scorbus fluff, uhhh what else, yeah this is basically just pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 83,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25429471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feathersong/pseuds/Feathersong
Summary: Albus and Scorpius are finally allowed to visit each other over the holidays, given that their parents seem to have calmed down (something to do with their Very Eventful year in school putting things in perspective). So, Scorpius spends a week at the Potters', which Albus is ridiculously excited for, and has meticulously planned out; he can't wait for his madhouse of a family to get to know Scorpius. One thing Albus didn't plan for, however, was developing feelings for Scorpius in the process.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 67
Kudos: 290





	1. that's a wonderful thing

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Scorbus fluff central! I'll be posting a new chapter every day until it's complete, so stay tuned! Also, comments and kudos are always so so lovely to see, so if you have a mo to do either, that'd be amazing! ❤️ Hope you enjoy reading about these two dorks as much as I enjoyed writing them!

‘Haven’t you got anything better to do than play on that thing? Like, oh, I don’t know, tidying your room?’ Albus thought he felt his eye twitch with hyper frustration.

His brother, however, was far from concerned about the state of his room. On the contrary: James was lounging inelegantly on a pile of once bright-blue beanbags, with a games console remote clutched in his hands as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Having been stressed all morning simply by a stubborn coffee stain on his desk, Albus couldn’t relate.

Equally as attractively, Teddy Lupin was spread-eagled on a sea of discarded cardboard and bubble-wrap—the remnants of a package containing Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes fireworks which had arrived a week prior. Harry had barely managed to persuade Ginny that Teddy was mature and therefore responsible enough to supervise setting off a few of the fireworks. Needless to say, he’d been disappointed but not surprised when Teddy had instead been the cause of the accidental—albeit spectacular—fire in James’s bedroom, which would have been disastrous had Teddy not repeatedly shrieked ‘ _AGUAMENTI!’_ loud enough that his shouts echoed around the house.

Harry had taken one look at the suspicious scorch marks on the ceiling and the totally inconspicuous smoking carpet and elected to feign ignorance that anything had happened, defeatedly muttering ‘Don’t tell your mother’ as he left the room. The delivery of replacement fireworks was expected next week. Albus’s nose wrinkled—he could still vaguely smell smoke, but he was sure that next week the entire house would reek of it. If they had a house left by the end of it.

The packaging and debris was still strewn over the carpet, and every time Albus looked at it, he was torn between crying and… well, crying even harder.

Albus took a tentative step forward, grimacing as he trod on the remains of a rejected Every Flavour Bean. He spotted a vomit-flavoured one by James’s TV, making a mental note to sneak that one out so it didn’t end up in his mashed potato later this week. He suppressed an involuntary shudder.

‘Chill, Al.’ Teddy spoke for James without taking his eyes off the TV screen, equally as engrossed as James, the remote all but welded in his hands. ‘Scorpius isn’t arriving for another hour, and based on how much time you’ll be spending together, he won’t be setting foot in here for some time.’

Although he was no longer at Hogwarts, Teddy still spent his summers practically living with the Potters, as he had done in his youth—mostly wreaking havoc with James, who had idolised Teddy since he could crawl. Harry was thoroughly delighted by this arrangement, to the point where he was usually willing to overlook the fact that both boys were equally horrific influences upon each other. Any time not spent with James, Teddy spent with Lily, who he had always had a particular soft spot for; Albus had fond memories of lazy summer afternoons spent with Teddy animatedly reading books aloud to a much younger Lily. Albus had never considered himself particularly close to Teddy, feeling that he had more of a bond with his siblings, but he was sometimes surprised by how well Teddy knew him.

‘You’re starting to sound like Mum,’ James chipped in, his head tilting slightly to the right to follow the screen’s gameplay. ‘ _James Sirius Potter, for the seventh day in a row, remove your filthy dishes from the living room!_ ’ He mimicked shrilly, his voice raising several pitches.

Teddy didn’t miss a beat. _‘I long for the day you can use magic to tidy your room_ ,’ he quipped, his voice hitting with ease the ultra-sonic tone of their mother’s ‘ _we’ve got guests arriving’_ voice.

Albus clenched his fists impatiently. He had been convinced recently that Harry was struggling to accept Teddy was now a fully-grown adult, with him looking surprised and almost sad every time Teddy couldn’t stay for dinner because he had to dash off to work. But Albus knew better than to assume Teddy was any more mature than someone five years younger than him.

James snorted. ‘ _I LONG for the day Edward Lupin uses his magic for anything other than making his hair flick the right way over his forehead,_ ’ he chortled, ignoring Teddy’s scowl as he combed a hand protectively through his moss-green hair. ‘ _And ALBUS POTTER, if you don’t remove that filthy underwear from your bedroom floor—’_

‘Nice try, but no. That one’s reserved exclusively for you,’ Teddy said, grinning. He leaned towards a pile of debris and fished out a pair of boxers on the end of the wand, waving them pointedly in James’s face.

James scowled, swiping the boxers, and Albus ended up ducking as Teddy enchanted the boxers to go flying in his direction. ‘Only because Mister Perfect over here has kept his room ridiculously immaculate for the last three weeks in preparation for Scorpius’s arrival,’ James said scornfully.

‘Like Ted said—’

‘Ha. That rhymed.’

Teddy and James promptly high-fived without taking their eyes off the screen.

‘Like Ted said, Mr Malfoy won’t be leaving your side all week, and I _highly_ doubt you’ll need to use my room for much, so please, take your obsessive tidiness elsewhere.’ Both boys returned what little attention they’d given Albus instantly back to their game.

Albus shook his head, and stepped over the boxers gingerly as he left the room. True, it had been a bit too hopeful to expect James—or Teddy—to tidy up after themselves, even when company was coming. But Scorpius hadn’t been to stay before; even though Albus knew that the state of his house really wouldn’t matter to Scorpius, it mattered to him. James wasn’t wrong: he wanted this week to be perfect.

During previous summers, Albus and Scorpius had just about got by on sending each other owls every few days in lieu of their families’ unspoken rivalry and the unconscious disapproval of their friendship from both sides.

Well. More so from their fathers.

Although Harry and Draco famously refused to cooperate with each other—while Albus’s mother just despaired of them both—they had actually made an attempt to cooperate during their ‘adventures’ over the year, and now, their willingness to make amends had led to Albus and Scorpius finally being allowed to see each other in the holidays. Both families had agreed that year’s Christmas was strictly family time, which Albus and Scorpius grudgingly accepted, but concrete plans were made for Scorpius to come and stay for a week in the summer holidays. Much to both of their shock, Draco had even agreed to an invitation to have lunch with them on the Friday.

Truth be told, the concept of Draco Malfoy sitting down for a meal with a family of Potters amused and concerned both Albus and Scorpius in equal measure. Albus’s main worry was the concept of Harry and Draco sitting down and talking together, which just seemed downright impossible. According to his mother, the last time she’d left them alone together, they’d ended up duelling in the living room, and truth be told a repeat of those events was more likely than an amicable reconciliation. But they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. As Scorpius had cheerfully pointed out in his most recent letter: _‘I’m no longer averse to kicking my father under the table, so what could possibly go wrong?’_

Smiling at his best friend’s unwavering optimism, Albus, now in his bedroom, picked up the letter that had arrived last night, undoubtedly while Scorpius had been packing, and placed it in the bottom drawer of his bedside cabinet, on top of all the other letters from Scorpius. Unsurprisingly, the number of letters had increased over the last three weeks in anticipation of this visit. And it didn’t even come as much of a surprise when, at that exact moment, a very well-groomed eagle owl tapped politely on Albus’s window, bearing a letter messily sealed with the Malfoy crest.

Albus tapped the desk to indicate to the owl where it could perch, but the gesture was unnecessary, what with the owl having already made six visits that week. It flapped over to land on the desk, and waited patiently as Albus absently poured water from a used water glass on his desk into a dish for the owl to drink from. The owl ruffled its feathers gratefully as Albus read the hastily scribbled letter:

‘ _Just heading into Hogsmeade—Dad wanted to get your family a thank-you gift!_ ’

Albus gave a small huff of surprise as he read it, and then smiled to himself as he continued reading:

‘ _I know, that came as a surprise to me too. Okay, granted, it’s probably more motivated by wanting to apologise to your mother for the state her living room was left in a few months ago. I distinctly recall him muttering something about her being a ‘formidable woman’. I’m sure you’d be inclined to agree! But I’m definitely liking this potential rapprochement. I’m really looking forward to this week, Albus_.

 _See you in a few hours_ ,

_— S’_

As Albus went to put this letter into the drawer along with the others, he heard a high-pitched yelp, followed by a sickening crash and the shattering of something made of china.

‘ _James Sirius Potter,_ if you don’t remove your dirty plates from the lounge _this instant_ —’

Albus shook his head and laughed despite himself. With Scorpius arriving that afternoon, he’d better go and help Ginny to ensure that no more accidents took place. And maybe, just maybe, in the meantime, he’d persuade James to tidy his room.

* * *

‘Trust Draco Malfoy to make an entrance,’ Albus overheard his father muttering to Ginny.

The whole family was crowded together in the hallway, making hasty grabs for their shoes from the floor before piling outside to greet Scorpius. Ginny rolled her eyes at the mess, and with a flick of her wand sent the shoes into an immaculate line along the wall, ignoring James’s yelp as a boot was tugged from his grasp.

Albus dodged to the side as one of his brother’s stray quidditch boots snaked past his foot, and opened his mouth to rebuke his father. Ginny beat him to it.

‘You know _full_ well Draco only learned to drive because Astoria became too unwell to use the Floo Network,’ she said crisply, tugging her husband back by his arm to smooth his collar down. She lifted a hand instinctively in an attempt to flatten his hair, but quickly decided against it, her facial expression exhibiting something between amusement and defeat. She turned her attention to James instead, who made another indignant sound as he ducked out of her grasp, Teddy chuckling behind him. Albus silently thanked his genetics for sparing him from the notoriously unruly Potter hair.

Harry coughed awkwardly, raising his eyebrows. ‘Yeah, ‘course.’ He scratched his neck and turned towards the door, his mutter of ‘Had to drive a Bentley though, didn’t he?’ just about audible.

Ginny waved her wand aggressively at the door, sending it flying open with such force that Harry had to jump backwards. James smirked, and Teddy raised his eyebrows and exhaled loudly as they walked past, then practically dived out of the door to avoid the daggers that Ginny’s glare was now sending in their direction.

‘At this point I’d probably give you all the “for goodness sake, be on your best behaviour” lecture,’ she said briskly, ushering Lily and Albus to move forwards, ‘but I have a feeling Albus has already seen to that.’ Harry chuckled along with her.

Albus felt himself reddening as he stepped outside, squinting slightly in the sunlight. ‘I only—’

‘—want this week to be perfect. We _know_ ,’ James drawled.

The whole family filed out onto the doorway, collectively squinting in the light of the sun. For the first time all holidays, the sun had finally decided it was allowed to be summer; clouds were scattered across the sky, but the sunlight was beaming down intensely; Albus could feel the heat radiating from the concrete through his thinly-soled shoes. A warm breeze ruffled Albus’s t-shirt, and he sent a silent thank you to the universe for the gorgeous weather. And for his mother having had the sense to take him out clothes shopping recently. Fitting into the clothes he left at home while at Hogwarts was becoming increasingly difficult every summer, but thankfully he now was equipped for any warm weather the British summer felt like throwing at him.

Though Albus knew very little about cars, he was impressed—and understanding of his father’s disdain—when a sleek, grey car pulled up onto the gravel driveway. Out of the corner of his eye, Albus watched as Teddy swung Lily up onto his shoulders—with some difficulty, it seemed; it had been much easier when she was younger—Ginny looking on with a smile, and saw Harry flick his wand at a rogue quaffle on the middle of the drive, sending it flying into a shrub and out of sight. Albus had a feeling there’d be a lot of hasty wand-flicking over the course of the week.

Albus was distracted from his family’s disorderliness by the sight of a familiar scrawny figure in the passenger seat of the car. His heart leapt as he saw the figure was waving frantically, his token goofy smile just about visible behind the glare of the sun on the windscreen. He found himself waving back with equal fervour.

James scoffed, giving his brother a nudge with his elbow. ‘How old are you?’

‘Can it, James,’ Albus muttered, elbowing him back without averting his gaze.

Draco stepped out of the car first, taking a step forward and offering a hand to Ginny, who rolled her eyes and went in for a hug. Seemingly thrown by the affection, Draco composed himself after being released from the embrace, and offered the rest of the family a courteous nod. Albus was distracted by Scorpius practically flinging open the car door, and wincing slightly as he slammed it a bit too forcefully behind him, nervously rolling up the sleeves of his slightly too baggy pale green jumper.

Albus chuckled to himself, and side-stepped his mother and Draco as Scorpius made a beeline straight for him. Before Albus could even raise his arms, Scorpius had enveloped him in a rib-crushing hug that almost sent both of them flying.

‘Missed me much?’ Albus joked, attempting to untangle his arms from his gangly friend.

Scorpius let him go, a sheepish grin on his face. ‘You know full well that we’re basically co-dependent at this point. So I know for a fact you’ve missed me too.’

Albus grinned, slinging an arm around his friend’s shoulder. _Is it me, or has Scorpius grown taller over the last month or so?_ he thought to himself, surprised. ‘Explains why my holidays have been so incredibly dull up until now.’

James leapt over to the two of them, ruffling Scorpius’s hair as he did so. ‘Good to see you, Malfoy,’ he crowed. ‘And it’s true. All Albus has done all holidays is mope in his room and write a million bloody mopey letters.’

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. ‘Albus, really. I thought we agreed we’d make more of an effort to actually go outside?’ he said, clasping a hand dramatically to his chest in the pretence of taking offense.

A laugh escaped from Albus, but before he could feign indignation, Draco appeared next to them with Scorpius’s bags, which James stepped in to grab, moving them to the doorway. Albus took a respectful step away, and watched as Draco placed a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder, a warm expression on his face.

Albus shook himself, making a mental note to stop being surprised every time Scorpius’s father exhibited any signs of affection—he needed to get it out of his head that Draco wasn’t a bad father; Albus had seen himself a few months ago what nearly losing Scorpius had done to him. While Scorpius hadn’t exactly provided a good fatherly impression of Draco over the years, Albus was certain his view of Draco had been warped by Harry’s constant personal vendetta against the whole family. Recent events had definitely changed things at both ends, however; that much was evident from Scorpius’s letters, at least. Albus made another mental note to ensure he brought it up at some point.

‘Don’t give the Potters too much trouble,’ Draco said briskly.

Scorpius gave a small smile and nodded, and Albus tried not to appear too surprised as Draco pulled his son in for a quick hug. ‘I’ll see you on Friday.’

Scorpius pulled away after a moment, nodding again. ‘Yep. Yep. We’ll see you then.’

Draco gave one last wave to everyone, and climbed back into the Bentley. It didn’t surprise Albus that Draco had skipped out on the small talk; that was something best saved for the end of the week.

As the car pulled away, everyone turned to face Scorpius, who suddenly went shy at the attention.

To everyone’s surprise, Harry spoke first. ‘Good to see you, Scorpius,’ he said warmly, offering his hand.

Scorpius hesitated for a split second, then shook it eagerly. ‘It’s great to see you too,’ he said, Albus sensing all of his friend’s inhibitions fading as quickly as they’d arrived. Scorpius had definitely become more confident in the last year—something to do with alternate timelines causing him to dub himself as permanently un-anxious.

‘Thank you all for having me stay this week. It’s good to see all of you!’ Scorpius beamed at everyone, giving Lily, who was still perched on Teddy’s shoulders, a small wave.

‘Not at all!’ Ginny chirped, waving a wand at Scorpius’s luggage to send it upstairs into the house. ‘Thank you for bringing the gorgeous weather with you. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you that Albus has quite a week planned.’

Scorpius laughed loudly, exchanging an excited glance with Albus. ‘I look forward to hearing the schedule.’

Harry slipped his hands into his pockets. ‘Trust us,’ he said, smiling, ‘he’s got it planned down to the minute.’

‘You’re even going to the Ministry on Wednesday!’ Lily added excitedly. A moment later, she furrowed her brow, and leaned forward slightly. ‘Wait, that wasn’t a surprise, was it?’ she muttered into Teddy’s ear. He shrugged, then winced, and crouched down so Lily could climb back onto the ground, much to her protest. ‘Rude,’ she grumbled.

‘You’re heavier than you used to be!’

‘I’m not getting heavier. You’re just getting older.’

Ginny shot her daughter a scathing look, and turned her attention back to her husband. ‘Yes, that’s right. Harry has probably been looking forward to this for as long as Albus has been excited for this week,’ Ginny admitted.

‘Not possible,’ James chipped in. ‘Albus has been looking forward to this since his first day at Hogwarts.’

Albus blushed and everyone laughed, and then began trooping indoors—James giving Scorpius one last hair ruffle before he bounced through the doorway—leaving Albus and Scorpius in the driveway.

‘Well, welcome to the madhouse!’ Albus said sheepishly, scuffing a foot on the gravel. ‘It’s already so surreal, having you here. It’s making me realise that this visit is incredibly overdue.’

Scorpius chuckled. _‘Unbelievably_ overdue.’ He turned his head slightly in the direction his father had driven in, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. ‘It’s easy to forget that so much has changed in the last few months.’

Albus gave a ‘hmm’ in agreement, following Scorpius’s gaze. ‘Yeah, things definitely seem different between you and your dad already.’

‘I know. Well, not so much different as returned to normal. The last few years have been anything but normal,’ Scorpius said, waving an arm. ‘Eh, I’ll give you the full lowdown later—it’s far more of an emotional 2am sort of conversation.’ Scorpius’s expression remained thoughtful for a moment, and then he turned to face Albus, a grin plastered on his face. ‘You know what else this change has meant?’

Albus mirrored his grin. ‘That you’re finally allowed to stay for summer?’

Scorpius gave an incredibly over-excited little jump. ‘That I’m _finally allowed to stay for summer!_ ’

They flung their arms in the air victoriously and whooped loudly, sending a flock of sparrows flying out of a nearby tree, which set the two of them giggling and shushing each other.

‘Come on.’ Albus tugged Scorpius by the sleeve of his jumper. ‘I can give you a proper guided tour later, but I think everyone’s heading out into the garden. _See?_ ’ he added, smiling smugly. _‘_ I go outside sometimes.’

Scorpius held his hands up in defeat. ‘Albus Potter, you are a changed man.’ Then he smiled and gestured dramatically towards the door. ‘By all means, lead the way.’

* * *

The two of them enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the garden, relaxing with snacks on a picnic blanket while Lily grudgingly ferried a jug of lemonade to and from the kitchen. She had now abandoned her post, however, and she and James soon began an incredibly competitive game of catch with a quaffle at the end of the garden, zipping around on their brooms. Their parents and Teddy were perched comfortably in the shade in plastic chairs, Ginny scribbling away at an article, and Harry lying back with his hands stretched behind his head, mid-conversation with Teddy. He watched the game of catch, a smile creeping across his face as the quaffle flew over the fence for the second time, and Lily, scowling, dismounted her broom to run through the gate and fetch it back.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen your father look this relaxed,’ Scorpius commented, taking a contemplative sip from his glass of lemonade.

Albus twirled his straw around the glass, glancing over at his father. ‘He’s actually a relatively chilled person around the house nowadays. Which probably has something to do with the fact that he’s not attempting forced father-son bonding time twenty-four-seven. And I think his work is pretty relaxed at the moment, too.’

‘Huh.’ Scorpius sounded surprised. He reached for the bowl of popcorn. ‘You’d think with everything that’s happened recently it’d be carnage.’

Albus tilted his head to one side, watching as Harry and Teddy applauded a particularly good catch by James. James pretended to bow graciously, then fumbled as the quaffle slipped from his grasp, nearly falling off his broom in the process. Lily let out a peal of laughter as James righted himself, nonchalantly brushing down his shirt with a free hand.

‘Nah, I think they cleared everything up pretty sharpish. They’re still monitoring the movements of the giants and werewolves, but they reckon they’ve tracked down everyone who rounded them up.’

Scorpius made an impressed sound through a mouthful of popcorn. ‘Someone’s been paying attention at the dinner table.’

Albus smirked. ‘I was mostly responsible for this mess, so Dad’s kept me updated as to how the clear-up’s gone. In all honesty, I’m surprised they’re actually letting us into the Ministry at all.’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘Eh. We only broke into the centre of the wizarding government and stole the last Time Turner in existence. And let a criminal into the Minister for Magic’s office. Y’know, no biggie.’

Albus tutted good-naturedly, giving his friend’s arm a shove. ‘It’d be nice to make it the whole week without bringing up our criminal escapades. And,’ he added, pointing his straw accusingly at Scorpius, ‘without bringing up my so-called _preference_ for older women.’

Scorpius blinked, sipping his drink entirely too innocently. ‘I had no intention of doing anything of the sort.’

Albus picked up a kernel of popcorn and flicked it at Scorpius. ‘I _know_ that’s a lie,’ he teased, laughing out loud as Scorpius attempted to shield himself, instead spilling lemonade all over the picnic blanket. Ginny, Harry and Teddy glanced over briefly to observe the damage, then exchanged smiles and returned to their work and conversation.

‘You couldn’t even make it the last term of the school year without bringing it up at least once a week. Oh, don’t worry about it,’ Albus said, waving a hand dismissively as Scorpius attempted to dab at the spilt lemonade with the sleeve of his jumper. ‘It’s been through worse. I live with this lot, remember?’ He gestured broadly to his entire family. ‘Plus: I’m pretty used to your constant, glorious clumsiness.’

Scorpius laughed nervously, rolling up his now slightly damp sleeves. ‘Your family aren’t though.’

‘ _Yet_. You’ll be practically one of the family by the end of the week, trust me.’

‘You already are,’ James called, jogging past the two of them on his way indoors. ‘The amount Albus goes on about you, you’ve basically been an adoptive member of the family since 2017.’

Scorpius’s face lit up.

Albus looked at his friend, smiling, then turned back to James. ‘Does Mum need us to help with dinner?’

‘We’ve got it covered.’ Teddy appeared next to them; despite Ginny and Harry’s protests, Teddy was usually insistent on helping out around the house. Albus had even overheard his mother commenting on how Teddy was becoming a better chef than Harry, which Harry had only taken slightly personally, considering he’d been teaching Teddy to cook over the years. Not that he was competing with what Molly Weasley had taught Teddy at all. Everyone knew that would be unwise.

James grinned. ‘We’re only hurling together some salad stuff.’ He winked in a blasé way they didn’t encourage Albus in the slightest, and darted into the kitchen with Teddy.

Albus shot Scorpius a look of mock concern as sounds of clattering and bashing ensued from the kitchen, followed by a guffaw of laughter. ‘“We’ve got it covered” is code for “impending fire-related disaster,”’ he muttered.

‘Even with a salad?’

‘You’d be surprised.’

Scorpius exhaled loudly, impressed. ‘Am I about to realise why you’re glad we don’t have to share a common room with him?’

‘Quite possibly. Let’s just say here was a minor incident last week involving fireworks…’

* * *

By some miracle, James and Teddy didn’t manage to burn down the kitchen—or the entire house—while preparing the salad. Harry had set up and laid the table—by hand—and Teddy was laying bowls and plates of food onto the tablecloth. Albus and Scorpius sat together on one side of the table, with Harry and Lily opposite, James and Teddy at the other end, and Ginny at the head. The domesticity of it would have seemed normal were it not for Scorpius's presence; Albus still couldn't quite believe he was here.

As food began to get passed around, Harry handed a bowl of pasta to Scorpius, who peered inside the bowl, his eyes widening. ‘Pesto pasta?!’ he exclaimed, slightly too loudly.

The table fell silent, except for Albus, who cackled loudly. ‘Only you could get this excited over pasta.’

Lily snorted with laughter, and Ginny handed Scorpius a large spoon as she addressed him: ‘Scorpius, I encourage you to eat as much pasta as you want this week.’

Albus had never seen Scorpius look so happy.

Harry cleared his throat. ‘So, Scorpius. Have you, um, had a good summer so far?’

Scorpius turned to Harry and nodded enthusiastically, while Albus struggled to pry the pasta out of his clutches. ‘Yes, thank you! I haven’t done very much. Just a lot of time spent with Dad, really. Talking and eating food and all that jazz. Oh!’ He brandished his fork fervently. ‘And we went to a quidditch match last week!’

Harry raised his eyebrows in a vague expression of surprise. ‘Oh! Which one?’

Scorpius paused, a forkful of pasta suspended next to his mouth. ‘ _Tornadoes_ versus _Catapults_.’

Harry nodded, impressed. ‘Both excellent teams. Hey, don’t start,’ he exclaimed, as Ginny rolled her eyes. ‘I know you share Ron’s disgust for fans of the _Tornadoes_ , but—’

Ginny nudged her husband good-naturedly with her elbow. ‘Just let me be bitter.’

‘Eh, the _Tornadoes_ are so-so,’ Lily said matter-of-factly, ‘but the _Harpies_ are on _fire_ this season. They’ve been amazing to watch.’

‘That’s my girl,’ Ginny said, beaming in approval.

‘Oh, I was reading about their victory against the Harriers the other day!’ Scorpius chipped in through a mouthful of food. ‘Spectacular match!’

Ginny passed the pasta bowl back to Scorpius. ‘Scorpius, you’ve officially earned your place at this dinner table.’

‘You and Albus are such nerds,’ James said from the other end of the table, rolling his eyes.

‘Says the guy who owns a trunkful of _Chudley Cannons_ memorabilia,’ Albus retorted, gesturing to James’s shirt.

James shrugged. ‘Hey, Hermione was having a clear-out and brought them round. I’ll never say no to a quidditch shirt.’

Scorpius suddenly lifted his jumper to reveal a _Tutshill Tornadoes_ shirt, pointing excitedly to the blue ‘TT’ embellished in the centre of the design. ‘SNAP!’

Everyone laughed, and James nodded approvingly. ‘Fair play, Malfoy.’

Conversation resumed, and Albus glanced happily around the table. Lily had begun quizzing Teddy extensively on his relationship with Victoire for the millionth time these holidays; thankfully, Lily wasn’t shy in the slightest when it came to the topic of Teddy’s love life, and Ginny took the opportunity to listen intently, having not wanted to pry into the private life of her surrogate son too much now he was older. Teddy tactfully dodged most of the questions, his face—and hair—turning slightly pink, while James, catching the occasional answer, rolled his eyes, and returned his attention to passing Scorpius his phone, showing him pictures of his extensive _Chudley Cannons_ memorabilia. Harry was listening too, his forkful of food suspended in mid-air, as invested in Teddy’s exploits as his own children’s when he noticed Albus watching. He furrowed his brow and leaned forward slightly. ‘You okay?’ he said across the table to Albus.

A smile spread across Albus’s face, and he gave a slow nod in contentment. ‘Yeah. I’m good.’ At that moment, Scorpius let out a guffaw of laughter at an image he probably wasn’t meant to have seen on James’s phone, which he then proceeded to thrust in Albus’s face. The two of them cackled at the image of James pouting in front of his bedroom mirror, as James made a desperate attempt to grab his phone back from across the table, a plan soon foiled by Teddy, who nabbed it first, and celebrated by showing everyone present.

This was going better than Albus could have hoped.

* * *

After they had cleared everything into the kitchen, Albus and Scorpius made to head upstairs; Albus paused on the staircase as Scorpius went on ahead, overhearing his mother and father talking in the kitchen.

‘That boy literally couldn’t hurt a fly.’

‘ _See_?’

‘Yes, yes, you were right. I didn’t exactly get to speak to him at Godric’s Hollow, in all fairness. I just didn’t know Draco Malfoy’s son would be so… un-Draco.’

‘He’s such a happy little thing. And he gets along with James and Lily like a house on fire,’ Ginny said, the clattering of plates that followed indicating she was about to start washing up. ‘And as for Albus—well.’

‘Albus just lights up around him,’ Harry said thoughtfully. Albus heard him pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, and wrinkled his nose. Both of his parents insisted on washing up by hand; Harry because he’d grown up not knowing any different, and Ginny who had grown up largely doing chores without using magic.

‘Oh, Harry, I might just use the wand for this one.’

‘What are you saying about my washing up abilities?’

‘You know as well as I do that washing things thoroughly has always been a struggle for you.’

‘Excuse me, I washed dishes for _years—’_

Albus rolled his eyes, and his parents’ voices grew muffled as he carried on up the stairs, now a slight spring in his step at what he’d overheard.

Scorpius was standing in the hallway, admiring a photograph of a much smaller Albus.

‘Albus, you never told me you had a _Pygmy Puff_!’

Albus thundered up the last few steps and leapt over to see the photo Scorpius was cooing at. He groaned as his friend pointed at the moving photo of a scruffy-haired four-year-old Albus, lovingly cradling a small, extremely pink ball of fluff, and attempted to shove Scorpius away from the pictures. Scorpius stood fast, enjoying himself far too much.

‘And this one here! Oh, the galleons I would pay to see you on a broomstick now, especially looking so happy.’

Albus sniffed scornfully at the picture of a toothy, toddler Albus zipping around on a toy broomstick, with Harry coming into the shot briefly to prevent his son from flying into the sofa; the broomstick was a hand-crafted sized-down version of a Nimbus 2000 that Harry had bought him for his second birthday, and testing it out was one of Albus’s earliest memories. He remembered enjoying playing on it a lot when he was younger—his coordination problems with broomsticks had only begun when they flew higher than two feet from the ground.

‘You can blame Mum for all the candid photography—she had us sitting on broomsticks, eating cake, and running around on beaches for the sake of photography for the first few years of our lives.’

Scorpius nodded contemplatively. ‘I can understand why. You smiling is a rare occurrence indeed; it’s worth photographing.’

Albus gave Scorpius another shove. ‘And to think I was going to let you look through some of my old photo albums.’

‘No, no! I apologise! You do smile! You smiled at least twice last year, I remember now!’ Scorpius pleaded, traipsing after Albus, who was jokingly storming off to his room.

Scorpius came in behind Albus, who had pulled up the chair from his desk to the bookcase to reach the albums on the top shelf. Albus ran a finger along the book spines, hearing Scorpius slump on the bed behind him.

‘Wow,’ Scorpius breathed. ‘I know you said you had a lot of books, but I had been picturing a couple of shelves. This—this is a veritable _library!_ ’

‘That’s quite a compliment coming from someone who has an actual library in their house. And from someone who’s read the entire of said library.’

Scorpius made a chuffed sound, and Albus smiled to himself before continuing. ‘I haven’t actually read half of these books, but even if I did, I wouldn’t stand a chance of being half as smart as you.’ Albus didn’t turn around, but he knew Scorpius was probably blushing. ‘Besides, I love even just collecting books.’

It’s true: Albus’s bookshelf was pretty impressive. It was a mish-mash of old and new volumes; paperbacks and hardbacks; some with dustjackets, some without. He read a lot more fiction than Scorpius, who usually stuck to historical and factual books, and mostly read muggle crime and spy novels—which, up until recently, he’d elected to ignore that he’d inherited his interest in from his father. There was a scattering of history books, but they too were mostly histories of the muggle world. As interesting as magic history was, sometimes he preferred to escape from memories of lectures from Professor Binns—and Scorpius—and enjoy a non-magic perspective of the world.

‘A-hah!’ Albus found the album he was looking for, and pulled it from the shelf. ‘Okay, because you have marginally redeemed yourself by praising my book collection, you are permitted access to Albus aged one to three.’ He hopped off the chair, wiping a bit of dust from the top of the book, before passing it into Scorpius’s grabbing hands.

The two pored through the photo album together, and the next hour or so consisted of Scorpius cooing and Albus cringing at the escapades of miniature Albus. There were a few pictures of Albus and James, usually with James running around rambunctiously and Albus sitting quietly, and towards the end of the album, baby Lily featured, but Albus was more often than not pictured quite contentedly by himself.

‘Out of interest,’ Scorpius said, closing the album, ‘how many years _do_ these albums cover?’

‘About seven.’ Ginny’s voice sounded from the doorway, making them jump. She poked her head around the door. ‘After that, Albus got difficult.’

Albus scowled as Scorpius started giggling. ‘I didn’t get difficult. I became _self-aware_.’

Scorpius composed himself and nodded in agreement. ‘It’s true —candid photos are much harder to pose for when you know that they’re a) actually being taken, and b) going to be put up on the wall and sent to every single one of your relatives.’

‘Agreed. If you thought our house was bad, you haven’t seen all the pictures of me in the Burrow,’ Albus admitted with a shudder.

‘Not just of you!’ Ginny objected, coming into the room properly. ‘Mum has a lot more grandchildren than you three. And children. I think she used to regret not having more photos.’ She went quiet for a second, then cleared her throat. ‘And Albus, maybe you’d be in fewer pictures by yourself if you had interacted with your cousins and siblings a bit more as a child.’ She smiled and addressed Scorpius. ‘Albus used to be pretty solitary. He was quite content with his own company.’

Scorpius chuckled. ‘So not much has changed, then?’ He leaned back to avoid Albus’s attempt to elbow him angrily. ‘Well, I was no better. As you know,’ he said, nodding at Albus, ‘I didn’t really interact with children my age until… well, until I came to Hogwarts. So there are lots of photos of young Scorpius reading books, playing with frogs in the pond, and… reading more books.’

Albus snorted. ‘So not much has changed since then for you either?’

Scorpius whacked him with the photo album as Ginny shook her head and laughed. ‘At least you two can be antisocial together. I might even crack the camera out this week to make up for the lack of photos from the last few years.’

Albus and Scorpius exchanged a questioning glance, then nodded simultaneously. _Not a bad idea, actually,_ Albus thought. The only photos they really had together, other than official Hogwarts pictures, were a couple of polaroids from a Sixth-Year’s party in the Slytherin common room last year. They both had them propped up on their bedside tables—Albus’s showing Scorpius animatedly cheering on Albus downing a flagon of Firewhisky, and Scorpius’s depicting the scene a minute or two later, with Albus having an arm flung drunkenly around Scorpius’s shoulders, while Scorpius laughed next to him. The pictures didn’t move, but the memory was a good one.

Ginny looked surprised for a moment. ‘I was expecting to have to fight a bit harder for that. Excellent!’ she said, evidently pleased with herself. She made to walk out of the room, then darted back around the doorway. ‘Oh, and Scorpius, I’ve moved your luggage into the guest room. It’s upstairs in the attic, if Albus hasn’t shown you already.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘We usually all head to bed around about now, but don’t worry if you hear anyone wandering around at night—Harry’s shifts can be unpredictable, so he’s often up at all hours.’ 

Scorpius smiled and thanked Ginny, but Albus’s mind was momentarily distracted. He knew they had a guest bedroom upstairs—which was usually Teddy’s room when he stayed over for the night—and of course, Scorpius was a guest. For some reason, though, the thought of Scorpius sleeping upstairs was an odd one. But they weren’t at Hogwarts this week, and this wasn’t the Slytherin dormitories. Granted, he was used to their two beds being next to each other, but he reproached himself nonetheless. If he’d managed the whole summer so far without so much as seeing his friend, he was sure he could cope with sleeping in a different room to Scorpius while he was actually able to see him during the day.

Ginny gave the two a wave. ‘Give me a shout if you need anything,’ she said, before heading back downstairs to finish working, closing the door on her way out.

Scorpius sighed. ‘I already feel more at home here in a day than I did after fourteen years at Malfoy Manor. Don’t get me wrong, growing up I loved my family, but Malfoy Manor is a bit, well, old. And cold. In both a) the central heating sense, and b) the sense that only three people were living in a bloody huge manor.’

Albus shook himself out of his trance. ‘My family have a habit of doing that. Making people feel at home, that is. They sort of adopt everyone who comes to stay for so much as a day. But I think your visit is so overdue that they’re making up for lost time,’ he added, leaning back to lie on the bed.

Scorpius joined him, grabbing a pillow to lean on. ‘I mean, a lot has changed in the last few months, as I said earlier. In fact, can I initiate the emotional conversation a few hours early?’

Albus shuffled onto his side to face his friend. ‘Permission granted. Fire away.’

‘Much appreciated.’ Scorpius folded his arms across his chest. ‘It’s quite amazing, really. Dad and I have talked about stuff occasionally, like about what happened last year, and sometimes even about Mum. Already things seem so different. We’re hardly ‘ _Dad, I had a bad dream’_ , _‘oh no, son of mine, tell me all about it_ ’ sort of close, but it’s more the little things.’

Albus thought for a moment. ‘Like… spontaneous hug when you’re going away for a week sort of little things?’

Scorpius nodded vigorously. ‘Yeah. It’s things like that that they make me feel, y’know, that there’s a way back to how it was before Mum. Even though she’s not there, it’s not nearly as obvious that she’s not. If that makes any sense at all,’ he added, smiling and turning to Albus.

Feeling a surge of happiness for his friend, Albus grinned. ‘That’s really, really good to hear, Scorpius.’

Scorpius gave a small smile, and leaned his head so it was propped sideways against Albus’s shoulder. ‘Thanks. It’s been really nice over the summer at home so far. Christmas was the worst, I think. I felt like I was being trapped for a month with something I wasn’t ready to face, but after we started talking, we became more relaxed around each other. Almost back to normal. You wouldn’t believe how different Dad was when I was younger. You know, the emotional stuff wasn’t always left to Mum; Dad was very good at the whole dinner-table chat, and if I had a sickle for every time he grilled me on whether or not the “other kids were being mean to me”—well, to us—’

He paused as Albus let out a surprised huff. ‘I know! Oh trust me, Albus, he got the lowdown on _all_ of our escapades in the first couple of years at Hogwarts. Remember, you’re the proud holder of the title of Scorpius Malfoy’s first best friend. He asked about you almost every day in the holidays while we were writing to each other, and if things with Mum hadn’t gone the way they did, I know he would’ve wanted you to visit. But as you can imagine, without Mum around, we were both afraid of speaking to each other. Things are getting better, though. It’s crazy how nearly destroying the world can bring a family together.’ He chuckled, turning his head to look up at Albus apologetically. ‘Sorry, went off on a bit of a ramble there.’

Albus snorted. ‘Hey, we agreed we’d talk more about your problems, remember? And that I’d stop being self-absorbed and talking about myself. I’m learning a lot, here. Though I can’t deny that I’m concerned about how much you told your dad about first year.’

Scorpius giggled, giving his friend a reassuring pat on the arm. ‘Don’t worry, your spectacular attempt to flirt with Astrid Bullstrode that led to mild spontaneous combustion and toad guts flying everywhere is a secret safe with me. And our entire potions class.’

Albus groaned, pushing Scorpius away playfully as he gestured wildly and mimed an explosion. ‘That is a memory I’d much rather repress for all eternity. I wasn’t _flirting._ That was me trying to make other friends. I think by that point I’d spent so much time with you that your weirdness had started to rub off on me. I didn’t stand a chance.’

Scorpius huffed. ‘I don’t know whether to be offended or touched.’

‘Let’s go for both.’ Albus frowned, suddenly concerned. ‘Besides, I do care about your feelings, Scorpius. It still annoys me that I made that so unclear for so long.’ _And will probably do so for a while_. After the events of fourth year, they’d both crossed an invisible line in their friendship, and they’d come out of it even closer. That was how Albus felt, anyway—his protectiveness of Scorpius had certainly increased, as had his appreciation for everything about his best friend.

Scorpius was quiet for a moment. ‘I know. But your feelings are still important too.’ He turned to Albus again, his eyes teasing. ‘Just so long as you don’t link _everything_ wrong with your life back to your father issues.’

Albus covered his eyes with his hands and groaned while Scorpius flung his head back on the bed and laughed loudly. ‘Don’t remind me,’ Albus said, his voice strained. ‘I was _insufferable_.’

‘You didn’t have it totally easy, though, Albus,’ Scorpius said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. ‘You did have problems—’ he lowered his voice slightly, ‘—with your dad, and you were unhappy. Both of you. Don’t think your unhappiness wasn’t legitimate, because it was.’

Albus removed his hands from his face. ‘Yeah. Dad did, and said, some pretty nasty things. I realise now that it was because he cared about me—he _wanted_ to be a good father. He just wasn’t sure how. And I wasn’t exactly helping.’ _I guess three years of your child pushing you away is enough to make any parent feel like Dad did,_ Albus thought guiltily _._ ‘But we’re very similar people,’ he carried on aloud. ‘It’s only because of recent events that we’ve both been able to accept that, and almost start afresh.’

Albus went quiet for a moment, lost in thought. ‘Christmas wasn’t easy either—we had a lot to get past, and a lot of apologies to make. It’s got better though, as you can probably tell. I mean, it’s not perfect, and there’s still stuff that we’re avoiding, but, I mean, we’re not trying to bite each other’s heads off any more,’ he said, chuckling. ‘That’s reserved for arguments with James.’They both laughed quietly, and Scorpius sat up to lean against the wall, a smile on his face. ‘I have a feeling, thanks to this new rule, that it’ll be difficult for us to make it more than five minutes without a heart-to-heart.’ He gave Albus an affectionate nudge. ‘And I’m not entirely sure that’s a bad thing.’

Albus returned the smile and sat up, giving a single nod in amusement. ‘You betcha. We’ve got all week to have as many heart-to-hearts as we can muster.’

‘As many as our busy schedule will allow, of course,’ Scorpius said teasingly.

‘Oh, speaking of…’ Albus leapt off the bed and over to his desk, rushing back with an A4 sized ring-bound notebook, flicking through the pages until he found a double-page spread of their plan for the week.

Scorpius’s eyes widened. ‘Am I allowed to be a _teensy_ bit afraid?’ he said, peering at the lines of writing with vague incredulity.

Albus tutted. ‘You’re supposed to be _impressed._ This is some Scorpius Malfoy standard organisation here.’ He wrapped the page over, grabbed a pen from his pocket and began pointing enthusiastically at the page. ‘Okay. Day one: arrival.’

Scorpius gave a serious nod. ‘Check.’

‘Dinner: salad.’

‘Salad consumed. Check.’

‘Unpacking and house tour.’

‘Incomplete. Tour of entire house still required. Also, assistance with how to operate the shower may be necessary. I have a habit of breaking things like showers.’

‘Noted, and Scorpius, I already knew this. Everyone in Slytherin knows this. It’s one among many reasons why people in our dormitory dislike us.’

‘Ouch. But true. Continue.’

Albus ran a finger down the page to the next day. ‘Day two. Diagon Alley!’

Scorpius spluttered. ‘That escalated quickly!’

Albus grinned. ‘Our school supply lists arrive tomorrow morning, remember? Mum said your dad was going to send yours on to us, so we can get anything you need for Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes, as well as the basics.’

‘Okay, I’m already impressed with the thought has gone into this,’ Scorpius said, holding his hands up in defeat.

‘It gets better. Dinner: probably ice-cream.’

‘WE’RE GOING TO FLOREAN FORTESCUE’S?’

‘Duh, where else would we ever considering getting ice-cream from?’

‘Ohhh, now I’m excited.’ Scorpius clasped his hands together gleefully.

‘And I’m offended you weren’t before. I mean, Mum will probably make us eat something vaguely healthy to make it look like having ice-cream for dinner isn’t something we do all the time. Which it totally is.’

‘I see no issue here. That is excellent parenting.’

‘Evening: probably watch a movie or something? I’ll let you decide. There’s a TV in the attic.’

‘ _There’s a TV in the attic_? Well great, there goes my healthy sleeping pattern for the week.’

Albus raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve never had a healthy sleeping pattern in your life. Don’t think I haven’t seen you reading the complete works of Gilderoy Lockhart under the covers at 3am at school.’

Scorpius’s cheeks flushed. ‘I know they’re factually inaccurate, but they make for really good binge-reads.’

‘I love how your priority here is their factual inaccuracy. Need I remind you of how the author nearly wiped my father’s memory?’

Scorpius bared his teeth apologetically. ‘Granted. You can’t deny he has a way with words, though.’

Albus wasn’t done judging. ‘I’m not entirely sure his ‘ _way with words’_ is the only thing that won you over.’

Scorpius went even redder. ‘Shall we move onto day three?’

Albus shook his head in amusement, and carried on with the plan. ‘Where were we… ah yes. Day three: Ministry of Magic tour day!’

Scorpius shook his head disbelievingly. ‘That is _literally_ going to be insane.’

Albus looked over his notebook, grinning excitedly. ‘I know, right? I have no idea what time we’ll be back, so we’ll probably just get takeaway. Pizza, probably.’

Scorpius closed his eyes blissfully. ‘Merlin, what I would do for a pizza right now.’

‘Hold your horses, Malfoy, you just ate your body weight in pesto pasta. Anyway, day four! Now this is largely down to us. The weather forecast is gloomy, because as we know, the British weather entitles us to approximately three days of sun per year.’

‘Unfortunate but true. What is the solution to this problem?’

‘The solution, my friend, is to _binge-watch TV shows all day_.’

‘Never has anything you’ve said made me so happy.’

‘What about the time I gave that speech about how you were the best person I know?’

‘Eh, let’s be honest, Albus, that happens fairly regularly in our friendship. Not that the novelty ever wears off though,’ Scorpius added sheepishly.

‘So sentimental,’ Albus teased, secretly pleased. ‘But yeah, and dinner that night will probably be something akin to popcorn. Dad will hit the roof at the lack of healthy eating, but stuff it, you didn’t come here to be forced into eating your five a day.’ He flicked over the page. ‘And then we come to day five.’ He paused for dramatic effect, glancing knowingly up at Scorpius, who nodded in confirmation. ‘Yep, you guessed it. The day that Draco Malfoy comes to lunch at Harry Potter’s house.’

Scorpius inhaled sharply through his teeth. ‘This could go one of two ways,’ he said slowly, raising a finger. ‘One: it’s a complete and utter disaster. Someone says something out of turn, or makes a reference to a past event that is no longer relevant but still a point of tension, resulting in a duel breaking out in the middle of the kitchen, followed by the entire house getting destroyed in a towering inferno of flames and regret.’

Albus nodded, considering this entirely plausible scenario. ‘Optimistic.’

Scorpius held up a second finger. ‘Two: alternatively, everything goes according to plan. Past events are brought up, but are reconciled over a good meal in the mutual interest of maintaining peace and mending relationships, for the sake of the younger generation seated before them. The house does not get destroyed, and everyone parts ways with the bonds of friendship successfully strengthened.’

Albus stroked his chin. ‘Unlikely, but yes, that’s the ideal outcome.’ He sighed, slumping over and resuming his position on the bed next to Scorpius, this time face-down on his notebook. ‘I just wish Dad had tried to reconcile this sooner. I know him and Draco never got along, but they literally had, like, nineteen years to sort out their differences,’ he grumbled, his voice slightly muffled by the notebook pressed against his face.

Patting his friend on the shoulder, Scorpius sighed. ‘People are stubborn, Albus. We find it easier to let our past rivalries, bitterness and problems stew in a stagnant mess instead of facing and fixing them.’

Albus turned over onto his back, pushing the notebook to one side. ‘It only takes the blooming end of the world to make them realise this petty feud was still an unhealthy problem. I mean, it’s the whole reason Dad thought you were a bad influence on me!’ he said incredulously, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke.

Scorpius brought a hand theatrically to his chest. ‘The _nerve_!’ He chuckled. ‘Had your dad even met me? And did he know you at all? Wait,’ he said, raising a hand in defeat. ‘Okay, the answer to that last question is a resounding _no_.’ Albus snorted loudly. ‘But I agree. Only in a world-threatening—and son-threatening—situation were the two able to finally cooperate and help to fix everything.’

‘It’s encouraging they want to continue this spirit of cooperation,’ Albus pointed out. ‘This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.’ He nudged Scorpius with his foot. ‘I fully expect Christmas cards from Draco, starting this year. Plus nineteen to make up for the years we were cruelly deprived of festive greetings from Mr Malfoy.’

‘Hey, I sent you Christmas cards! Okay, they were always just from me, but Mum helped me pick out the cards occasionally.’ Scorpius smiled at the memory. ‘Once she even took me into Amanuensis Quills to get your present, and was unbelievably patient, even when I spent at least half an hour comparing two different quills for their ink storage capabilities.’

Albus laughed loudly. ‘You always have your priorities in tip-top shape,’ he said, glancing briefly over to his desk where that quill still lived, three years later, mostly being used for writing letters to Scorpius. His eyes wandered up to his clock on the wall, and he sighed as he realised the sky-imitating background of the clock had turned a dark navy, with little lights representing stars lighting up around the hands.

‘It’s getting late. I should probably show you your room and where everything is,’ Albus said reluctantly, peeling himself from the bed. ‘The last thing we want is you falling down the stairs in the middle of the night because I failed as a host.’

‘Albus, let’s be honest,’ Scorpius said sincerely, standing up slowly and stretching his arms out. ‘That’s probably going to happen regardless of how well I know my way around.’

Laughing quietly as they left the room, so as not to disturb anyone already sleeping, they tiptoed out into the hallway.

‘The bathroom is just to the left,’ Albus said, his voice hushed significantly. ‘I’ll show you how to use the shower tomorrow.’ Scorpius gave a confirmatory thumbs-up in the dark, and they continued along the corridor to a small staircase embedded in the wall, which led upstairs to Scorpius’s attic room.

‘Yeah, you’ll have to be careful on these stairs,’ Albus whispered. ‘They’re pretty uneven, and there’s a beam across the top that you will almost definitely have to duck under.’

Just to be on the safe side, Scorpius crouched down to half his height and all but crawled up the stairs after Albus, the sight of which sent the two of them into silent hysterics.

Albus pushed the door open at the top of the stairs, and stretched a hand to help up Scorpius, who took it gratefully. ‘Tadah!’ Albus exclaimed quietly, gesturing enthusiastically to the room.

The room wasn’t bad as far as guest rooms went; it sported a double bed against the far wall, facing a respectably sized flat-screen TV against the opposite wall, and a skylight overhead on the slanted roof. A few books littered the shelves by the door—mostly Teddy’s, and a couple of Lily’s books from when she was younger—and a small potted flowering plant was perched on the bedside table, the flower’s petals subtly changing colour every few seconds, from pale pink to a deep red, then a slightly dark blue to a pale green. James had brought it back a few summers ago from a shopping trip to Hogsmeade, and Ginny had relegated it to the attic, thinking it tacky. Albus quite liked it—it had always reminded him of the bizarre muggle lava lamps he’d seen in homeware stores.

Albus noticed Scorpius’s attention being drawn by the plant. ‘Ah, that thing’s enchanted to work as an alarm, too. Just poke the pot and tell it a time, and when that time arrives, its petals light up so brightly that they wake you up,’ Albus said excitedly. ‘Just remember to give it a gentle prod to turn it off. I’ve used it for early starts before, and it’s been difficult to remember not to just smash it or hurl it off the table.’ He scratched his head, glancing around the room. ‘You can probably work out how to use the TV yourself, your luggage is all here, and um, yeah, I think that’s about everything.’

Scorpius crept past Albus and flung himself onto the double bed, letting out a relaxed ‘Ahhh’ at the softness of the sheets. ‘This’ll do nicely,’ he whispered, clambering under the covers fully-clothed. ‘So much comfier than my bed at home. That thing is just a hundred-year-old mattress in a bed frame that was clearly made for some sort of royalty.’

Albus chucked Scorpius’s clothes bag onto the bed, chuckling as Scorpius squeaked at the weight of the bags falling onto him. ‘I’d say set the alarm for about 7:30 to be on the safe side. I’ll warn you now that it doesn’t have a snooze.’

Scorpius appeared from under the duvet, glaring sulkily at the plant. ‘Rude. I suppose I’ll just have to get out of bed when the alarm actually goes off. How barbaric.’

Albus gave his friend a sarcastic thumbs-up. ‘I’m sure you’ll survive. Right, we better call it a night,’ he said reluctantly. ‘I’ll come and wake you up if you sleep in.’ _Not that that ever happens,_ Albus mused to himself. Scorpius’s energy knew no limits, even ridiculously early in the morning. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

Scorpius looked momentarily surprised, as if he’d forgotten Albus actually had to leave. He leapt out of the bed and sprung over to Albus, who was unsurprised to find himself wrapped in another of Scorpius’s gangly-armed hugs.

‘Thank you,’ Scorpius said, his voice muffled in Albus’s shoulder.

Albus adjusted his head out of the green fluff of Scorpius’s jumper. Their hugs had increased in regularity over the last year, and they didn’t always need a reason for being initiated. But right now, despite his gratefulness at Scorpius’s affection, Albus was still slightly confused. ‘What for?’

Scorpius pulled away, still holding onto Albus’s shoulders. ‘You know, for having me come to stay. I know we’ve planned this for literally years, but it still doesn’t feel like it’s actually happening, and I’m really grateful,’ Scorpius said quietly, smiling so widely Albus thought his cheeks would burst. ‘This week is going to be the _best,’_ he said excitedly, his voice squeaking with the effort of keeping quiet.

Albus’s heart soared, and he smiled warmly at Scorpius. ‘Don’t even mention it. I know James said I’ve been looking forward to this week since the day we met, but it’s genuinely not an exaggeration. Granted, we can’t use magic like at Hogwarts.’ _Or sleep in the same room like in the dormitory,_ he thought to himself. ‘But it’s nice to not have educational pressure looming over us for once.’

‘Or peer pressure,’ Scorpius added.

Albus gave a small laugh and squeezed his friend’s hand. ‘But we need to go to sleep now, or else we’ll be fighting the crowds at Diagon Alley tomorrow, and you know full well you need to get to Florean’s before the maple mint medley flavour sells out.’

Scorpius nodded solemnly. ‘For Florean’s, I can make the effort.’ He gave Albus’s hand a squeeze back, and removed his hands from his friend’s shoulders. ‘See you in the morning.’

Albus gave a small wave, walking over to the door. ‘Night, nerd,’ he called quietly.

‘Sleep tight,’ Scorpius replied, just about audibly, resurrecting their bedtime routine from Hogwarts. Okay, so James was right. They were pretty lame.

Albus and Scorpius exchanged grins from opposite sides of the room, and Albus shut the door behind him. He crept down the stairs and made his way back to his room, feeling like his cheeks were going to fall off from the smile he’d had plastered on his face all evening.

Back in his bedroom, Albus couldn’t deny that the room felt emptier without Scorpius, and that it still felt strange having Scorpius not sleeping a few feet away from him. He’d manage somehow—just as he had every night for the last month in anticipation of this week. Plus, despite the slight pang in his chest at the brief separation, the fact that Scorpius was finally, actually _here_ was enough to outweigh his unrest. Albus shoved his pyjamas on, and collapsed face-first onto his pillow, now wondering how on earth he was going to sleep with the excitement of the week up ahead.


	2. I’m not sure being fearless is going to be good for your health.

‘ _Gooood morning listeners! It is 7:30am on what is officially day two of the Great British summer. The sun is showing its face again for what looks like could be the_ entire day, _so pack your bags and head to the beaches before the muggles get there first! On the topic of beaches, our headlines today include the Wizarding School of Uagadou being under fire by critics once again, after muggles witnessed a student part the waves of the sea with his bare hands. The student, a minor who will remain unnamed, was holidaying in Wales with his family, and claimed he had dropped his mobile phone in the sea, and admitted he may have gestured a bit too frantically when splashing around trying to find it. Uagadou School famously teaches magic through hand gestures instead of wands, and has been criticised by many for these unconventional teaching methods, which is a tad unfair, considering how it’s much more efficient, especially as the majority of the wizarding world’s magical abilities rely on ridiculous pointy pieces of wood—what? Oh, apologies listeners, apparently today I’m not allowed to have an opinion on wands. I’ll add that to the list of things my producers think I’m biased against. Aaaand if you’ve just joined us, I’m Lee Jordan, and this is your morning update on the news and weather—’_

Albus flicked the radio off, rubbing his eyes and rolling over in bed, just as a knock sounded on his door. ‘Come in,’ he called, his voice thick with sleep.

Scorpius popped his head around the door, looking significantly more refreshed than Albus. ‘Moooorning sleepyhead!’ he sang, hurling the door open and dancing into the room.

Albus blinked away his sleepiness, grunting slightly as he sat up in bed, and wincing as the door slammed onto the bed frame. ‘Since when were you a morning person?’ he croaked sarcastically, knowing full well that Scorpius had literally never got out of bed on the wrong side.

Scorpius grinned before opening his mouth to speak. As much as Albus loved Scorpius’s unwavering enthusiasm for everything, it was sometimes a bit much for 7:33am. ‘Since I detected the sweet, sultry scent of bacon wafting up the stairs. And I have every intention of adopting this house as my second home, but as this is my first official morning here, I sort of need my host to navigate me around the breakfast table.’

Albus threw back the sheets and stood up, slowly stretching his arms in the air as Scorpius practically danced on the spot. ‘Alright,’ he mumbled, smiling at his friend’s enthusiasm. ‘Breakfast.’

As they entered the kitchen, Albus was forced into waking up completely at the sight of the minor chaos at the kitchen table. Lily and James were leaning across the table and helping themselves to toast and various preserves, with Teddy dodging around them and pouring the tea and coffee by hand—it was far too hazardous to attempt to use magic to pour scalding hot fluids at this table—as Harry jugged frying mushrooms and bacon and stirring baked beans. Ginny entered the room behind Albus and Scorpius, a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in her hand and a petite brown owl—Mercury, known fondly to the family as ‘Merc’—perched on her shoulder. ‘Morning boys!’ she said cheerily, sitting down at the head of the table and spreading the newspaper out next to her, giving the owl a small stroke on the head.

‘Good morning,’ Scorpius said, glancing around the kitchen hesitantly.

‘Morning.’ Albus rubbed his eyes and glanced at the newspaper headline: _‘Muggles see Moses on Marloes Sands.’_ He gestured for Scorpius to sit down in an empty seat, grabbing him a _Chudley Cannons_ mug from the side, which Teddy promptly popped a teabag in.

‘How do you like your tea, Scorpius?’ Teddy asked, holding up the milk and sugar.

Scorpius and Albus spoke up at the same time: ‘Weak with milk and two sugars.’ Scorpius’s timid addition of ‘please’ was slightly drowned out by Teddy’s laughter.

‘Let the boy speak,’ James said through a mouthful of toast. ‘We know you spend an inordinate amount of time together—no need to prove it by creepily ordering each other’s breakfast.’

Albus raised an eyebrow at his brother, and Harry turned around from the saucepans to address Scorpius. ‘So, Scorpius, what is Albus having for breakfast?’

Scorpius’s eyes lit up. ‘Ooh, quiz time!’ Albus braced himself. ‘Albus will have three rashers of bacon, about half a plate of baked beans, even though he never gets through it all, two slices of toast, and a poached egg. Not fried. The texture of fried eggs creeps him out.’

Everyone spluttered with laughter. ‘Right on the nose, Scorpius,’ Harry said, impressed, turning back to his cooking, as Lily and James applauded loudly.

‘Fair play, Malfoy, fair play.’

As Harry served up breakfast, a familiar-looking eagle owl started scratching at the slightly ajar window above the sink; Teddy flicked his wand over his shoulder, muttering a spell, and the window opened completely, letting the owl in. A small, long-eared owl flapped in behind it; Albus recognised it as his father’s owl, Flitwick, and caught Scorpius looking him with a rather startled expression. The owl always had a slightly alarmed look on his face, and had a particular talent for giving the entire Potter family a fright every time he delivered the post. 

Ginny pulled the letters from the owls’ talons as they flapped over to perch on her arm with Mercury. She looked a little like a shop assistant at Eeylops Owl Emporium; Albus exchanged an amused look with James, and sat down next to Scorpius with two plates full of food.

Ginny handed out the mail to everyone—including to Teddy, who snatched up his letter a little too quickly, darting to the other side of the room to read in private. ‘Scorpius, here’s your supply list,’ she said, passing him the parchment, as Albus nabbed an identical piece of parchment from the pile in front of her. Another smaller sheet of paper slipped out from the folded parchment, which he quickly slid into his pocket.

Albus pored through the list, reading quietly under his breath. ‘Yep, seems pretty standard,’ he said after a moment, pushing the paper to one side and tucking into his poached—not fried—egg.

Scorpius spent a bit longer reading his list, then put it down with a satisfied nod. ‘ _Standard Book of Spells Grade 5_ , and _Defensive Magical Theory_ are the only extra things we need, I think.’

Ginny looked up from the newspaper with interest, shifting her chair inwards so her husband could squeeze past and join them at the table. ‘What extra subjects do you take again, Scorpius?’

Scorpius began buttering a slice of toast. ‘Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes. I really like mathematical things,’ he added bashfully, glancing apologetically at Albus, who was shaking his head in mock disgust.

‘I could never get my head around anything like what you study,’ Albus said, shrugging. ‘I prefer the practicality of Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies is a breeze in comparison to ancient languages and numbers, or, y’know, anything involving spells.’

Harry laughed bitterly. ‘I wish I could’ve said the same about Care of Magical Creatures. As much as I love Hagrid, it wasn’t something I look back on altogether fondly.’

‘Yes, we all know you never quite recovered after the blast-ended skrewts,’ Ginny said, taking a sip of tea, not taking her eyes from the newspaper.

‘Or the flobberworms,’ Harry added with a shudder.

Albus grimaced. ‘Yeah, that exam was not one of my finest moments. But it’s alright, so I’ll do it as a N.E.W.T. with Muggle Studies if I pass my O.W.L.s.’

‘ _When_ you pass your O.W.L.s,’ Scorpius corrected. ‘You’re easily the best in class for both subjects.’

Albus went crimson as his parents both visibly leaned forwards, suddenly interested. He half-heartedly poked a baked bean with his fork. ‘Says who?’

‘Says everyone. I heard Karl Jenkins complaining in the common room about how well you did in the Muggle Studies end of year exam. He blamed it on how you’re always ‘swotting up’ in the library doing the extension tasks. I think it’s the most complimentary thing he’s ever said about either of us,’ Scorpius said thoughtfully.

Harry glanced at Ginny. ‘You never said you were doing so well,’ Harry said, a hint of pride in his voice that Albus wasn’t used to hearing.

Scorpius spluttered. ‘Are you kidding? Okay, granted, he got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the year. We both did.’ Albus smirked. ‘But Albus,’ Scorpius said, rather seriously, ‘your grades this year really have improved. Probably as a result of how much you’ve been studying.’

Albus took a sip from his mug of tea, muffling his reply in embarrassment. He would _so_ get Scorpius back for this. ‘Still no good at Potions, though.’ He exchanged a guilty look with Scorpius, who was shaking his head good-naturedly. They both knew that Albus would have failed Potions were it not for Scorpius’s natural affinity for the subject, and the fact that he always sneakily helped Albus with individual assignments. For someone who wasn’t blessed with coordination, Scorpius was surprisingly meticulous when it came down to measuring and preparing ingredients.

Ginny huffed. ‘Of course not. You wouldn’t be the son of Harry Potter if you were.’

Albus paused, pushing his plate to one side. ‘So, I take it from the surprise in your voices that you haven’t been talking to Professor McGonagall about my progress from this year?’

Harry put his knife and fork together and sighed. ‘No. We haven’t.’ He winced suddenly, his eyes subtly flicking sideways to Ginny, who Albus was ninety-percent certain had just kicked her husband under the table. ‘ _I_ haven’t,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re not a child any more, and we—’ he flinched again. Ginny didn’t even take her eyes off the newspaper. ‘— _I_ have to accept that I can’t keep an eye on everything you do, nor can I attempt to control it. So your studies, your—your hobbies, your friendships…’ he listed, casting an eye over to Scorpius before focusing back on Albus, ‘…they’re all down to you, Al—Albus.’ His voice went quieter. ‘You do things your way, and I will accept whatever you do.’

Their end of the table fell silent while Teddy, James and Lily nattered on in the background. Albus looked over at Scorpius, who looked slightly uncomfortable, yet gave a tiny nod. _Not bad,_ he seemed to be saying.

‘Um. Thanks,’ Albus mumbled, unable to take his eyes off the table plate for a moment, then glancing up to see his father looking equally uncomfortable. Harry smiled awkwardly, then stood up to clear the table. Scorpius gave Albus a gentle nudge with his leg under the table, and looked at him questioningly out of the corner of his eye. Albus gave a small smile. In the corner of his vision, he saw Ginny get up from the table and give Harry’s arm a squeeze. _Not bad at all._

* * *

‘Ohh, I never get tired of this place,’ Scorpius said gleefully, clutching his hands together under his chin. James swiftly snatched the back of his coat away to prevent it from getting caught as the brick wall closed up behind them. ‘Or of this marvellous moving brick wall. Or the cobblestones. Or the _shops._ ’

Albus shook his head. ‘You, my friend,’ he said, linking his arm through Scorpius’s as the Potter family began collectively making their way down the cobbled street, ‘are far too easily pleased.’

Scorpius gave a small skip accordingly. ‘You can’t deny my enthusiasm is infectious,’ he said, grinning widely. ‘This whole place just _oozes_ happiness and consumer satisfaction.’

‘Customer satisfaction seems like an odd thing to focus on.’

‘Let me have this, Albus.’

Ginny paused a few paces up ahead before they hit the swell of shoppers, and turned around to do a quick headcount. ‘Right,’ she said, clapping her hands together, calling everyone to attention. ‘First off, Teddy, you are free to go.’   
  
Teddy gave a mock salute. ‘Thanks guys,’ he said, giving Ginny a quick hug and Harry a clap on the shoulder, before waving to everyone and striding off in the direction of the Rosa Lee Teabag teashop. He had joined them on the journey, but was planning on spending the day with Victoire, much to Lily’s disappointment. ‘Come and find us later!’ Lily called after him, and he turned around and gave her a finger-click in confirmation.

‘James.’ Having been watching Teddy leave, James jolted to attention as Ginny handed him a small coin purse. ‘This is enough for your books and your books only. Anything else is on you. Got it?’ She raised an eyebrow.

James nodded solemnly. ‘Mother, you have my word. I’m meeting up with a few friends at 1ish, so I’ll catch you guys after.’

‘Okay, that’s fine,’ Ginny said, checking her watch. ‘We’ll be meeting at Florean’s at 3 o’clock, so you can either join us there or meet us back at the entrance at 5:00.’ She tapped the watch face. ‘Try not to be late. Or to spend all your money.’

James rolled his eyes theatrically. ‘When have I ever done _either_ of those things?’ He leaned over and gave his mother a peck on the cheek. ‘Don’t have too much fun without me!’ he called to Albus and Scorpius, who exchanged bemused glances as he sauntered away.

Ginny turned to Albus and Scorpius. ‘Same goes for you two.’ She handed Albus a purse, which jangled with a satisfying weight. ‘Try not to go too wild either. You may not be as dramatic as James, but you’re equally as untrustworthy with money.’ She smiled fondly. ‘Have a good time, though. Oh, and Albus, there’s enough in there for you to get new robes fitted.’

Albus’s face lifted, and his mouth opened in delighted shock. ‘ _Yes!_ ’ he exclaimed, exchanging a jubilant high-five with Scorpius, who looked equally excited on his friend’s behalf. He now felt slightly guilty for how regularly he’d lamented to Scorpius his woes at being stuck with James’s hand-me-down robes. Ginny knew full well they could afford to buy new robes, but having grown up with her six brothers’ robes as her own, she saw no reason why her own children couldn’t do the same.

‘Yes, I think it’s about time. It looks like James has _finally_ stopped growing, and you’re on the verge of growing out of the ones you have,’ Ginny said, checking her watch again, rolling her eyes in amusement at Albus’s excitement. Albus was fully aware that he was never this excitable, and could tell Ginny found it thoroughly entertaining.

‘Thanks Mum!’ Albus said happily, accidentally squeezing Scorpius’s arm so tightly that he felt his friend wince. ‘See you at Florean’s at 3:00?’

Ginny raised her eyebrows. ‘You better. Scorpius will be disappointed if they run out of maple mint medley.’ She winked at Scorpius, who looked briefly surprised, and shot a baffled look at Albus, who had suddenly diverted his attention to shoving his coin purse into his trouser pocket. ‘Yep. Breakfast and ice-cream flavours have been covered. I expect him to give me the lowdown on your sandwich preferences any minute now.’ She adjusted her handbag and gave them a quick wave, jogging slightly to catch up with Lily, who was already making a beeline for the bookshop.

Scorpius patted his pocket with his spare hand, and the coins in his wallet gave a reassuring jingle. ‘Right! Shall we get the boring school stuff over and done with first before we plunder our riches on sweets?’

‘You mean before _you_ plunder your riches on sweets,’ Albus scoffed, looking vaguely offended. ‘I’m going for the books after this. And it’s best to steer clear of the joke shops for an hour or so while James gets what he needs,’ he added. ‘I’m certain I saw him head in the general direction of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.’

‘Ignorance is bliss?’ Scorpius muttered questioningly.

‘Ignorance is bliss.’

* * *

Though they stopped several times on the way to admire the displays in shop windows of owls, quills, and books alike—Albus found it incredibly difficult to walk past Amanuensis Quills—they started at Madam Malkin’s for the robe fittings. Years ago, James had got his first robes fitted there, so it seemed a safe bet.

A bell tinkled tunefully as Albus pushed the door open, and the light from the doorway briefly illuminated the rather dully-lit racks of robes that surrounded the floor. The shop was empty but for a petite, ebony-furred cat that was splayed elegantly across the desktop, which disconcerted Albus considerably. He distrusted cats on the best of days, but he blamed Professor McGonagall entirely for his feline-related paranoia—he was convinced all of them were watching his every move, lying in wait to transfigure suddenly and scare the living daylight out of him.

‘The Firebolt Master is _exquisite_ ,’ Scorpius said wistfully as they entered the shop, referring to the many shop windows that had the latest Firebolt model in pride of place in the centre of their displays. ‘It’s obviously and easily the best Firebolt model _ever_ , and infinitely faster than the old Nimbus models that the Quidditch League are obsessed with keeping in circulation.’

Albus frowned. ‘I thought the Firebolt Superior was the best there was?’

‘Firebolt _Supreme,_ Albus. The Supreme was used by the national teams, but recently they’ve started using the Master, and to be completely honest, it’s left other manufacturers behind.’ He sighed, morosely running a Ravenclaw robe between his fingers. ‘Alas, my lowly Comet will have to suffice until I make the leagues and become insanely rich and famous with tournament prize money.’

Albus shook his head, tapping the bell at the desk, stirring the cat, who shot a disgruntled glare at him and leapt off the desk. ‘Since when did you know so much about broomsticks and quidditch, by the way? I know you’re into quidditch at school, but your trivia knowledge has taken a turn towards the nerdy.’

Scorpius sniffed. ‘Doesn’t everything I show a vague interest in turn towards _“the nerdy”_?’

A rather squat lady with grey hair swept up in an immaculate bun ambled up to the desk, tailed by a scrawny, black-haired woman whose young face wore an expression of severe boredom. Albus reckoned they were some of the first customers of the day.

‘Sorry for the wait,’ the lady tittered cheerily. ‘We’ll get you fitted in a jiffy.’

Albus and Scorpius followed the women into the fitting room, and stood obligingly in the middle of the room as their measurements were taken.

‘So, is playing quidditch your great aim in life now?’ Albus said, lowering his voice in attempt to not disturb Madam Malkin and her assistant.

Scorpius shrugged, then shot an apologetic glance to the black-haired woman, who looked vaguely annoyed as her attempt at measuring his arm was disturbed. ‘I doubt it. I’ve just got pretty into it over the course of the school year and over the summer. As I found this year, when we actually went to the matches for a change, it’s a lot more fun to watch and read about than I expected. I might even try out for the team next year,’ he added tentatively, as if questioning the concept himself.

Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Really? Wow! That’s, um. Great!’ It wasn’t the first time Scorpius had said this; he hadn’t taken him entirely seriously at first, but now his heart really seemed to be set on it now.

Scorpius gave a small smile. ‘I probably won’t make it, as Slytherin is pretty unbeatable with its current team, but I want to give it a go,’ he said shyly. ‘And plus, if I made it, I wouldn’t have to be dragging you to quidditch games just for the sake of it anymore.’

‘Hah! I don’t hate quidditch as much as you think. I mean, I always assumed you were just going to watch Rose, so I went along as acting moral support. And to make sure you didn’t shout out anything stupid that’d cause Rose to throw books at you in the Great Hall. Again.’

At the mention of Rose’s name, Scorpius’s cheeks had flushed pale red. Albus felt an inexplicable twist in his gut, so forced a cheeky grin in an attempt to ignore it.

‘Have you heard from her at all over the holidays?’

Scorpius stared pointedly at his feet as the black-haired woman flicked her wand, draping a robe over his shoulders. ‘A few times,’ he mumbled. ‘Nothing terribly interesting to report.’

Albus gave a sympathetic smile. ‘No developments then? Still just wants to stay friends?’

Scorpius snorted. ‘You know she made that abundantly clear about a week after sort-of agreeing to go out with me. The main condition originally was that I didn’t make it weird, and you know how well that went. You were there when I booped her on the nose in History of Magic, and she smacked me with one of Bathilda Bagshot’s more hefty works.’

‘Yes. I was,’ Albus said gravely.

‘I don’t mind,’ he said, lifting his chin with mock haughtiness. ‘She’s missing out on all _this._ ’ He gestured to the measuring tape hanging from his shoulders, the too-long sleeves of the robe draped over his arms flapping comically. They began giggling childishly, then mumbled more apologies to the black-haired woman, who looked ready to throttle them with her measuring tape.

Albus made to make a supportive comment on Scorpius’s appeal to the female gender, but backtracked instead, his curiosity piqued. ‘So, what _does_ she say in her letters?’

Scorpius inhaled deeply. ‘I’m hardly writing her declarations of my undying love for her, if that’s what you’re worried about.’

‘Why would I be worried about that?’ Albus said, his voice giving an inexplicable and undetectable waver. At this point, he felt like asking himself the same question.

‘Because of my infamous reputation as a womaniser. Which, as you know, is non-existent, and for good reason. Namely because—’

‘Because you go bright red, accidentally sing something, then proceed to drop something heavy, injuring either you or the interested party.’

Both Albus and Scorpius elected to ignore the fact that the black-haired woman had suddenly burst out into a coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like concealed laughter.

‘Precisely. But yeah, we just discuss average stuff. Y’know, quidditch, the deterioration of your cousinly friendship, and just life in general.’ Scorpius shrugged.

Albus frowned. ‘Backtrack to that second point. You talk about me?’

‘Of course!’ Scorpius sounded surprised. ‘All positive, never fear. And how could I not? Firstly, she’s your cousin, and despite what you think, she _does_ care about how you’re doing. And secondly, duh, you’re probably the most interesting thing—I mean, person in my life, so you’re bound to crop up in some form of conversation.’

Despite the compliment, Albus stiffened slightly, and had to force his muscles to relax for the sake of the measuring, which had now moved onto his legs, based on the tape hovering by his knee. Scorpius noticed, and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

‘Albus Potter, are you jealous of the fact that I have another friend aside from you?’

Albus scoffed a little too loudly. ‘ _No_. Our friendship is not exclusive. We just happen to unintentionally be most of the time. And if I am jealous, then it’s only because you’re better friends with my cousin than I am,’ he added, bemused. He shook himself as Scorpius formulated a response, finding himself having to convince his brain that that was the real reason he was jealous. _Why else would I be jealous? Get a grip, Albus._

‘You know, she thinks it’s a shame that you two don’t get along like you used to,’ Scorpius said matter-of-factly, his shyness about the letters evaporating.

Albus pursed his lips. ‘Does she now? And do you agree with her?’

‘I’m not going to lie—’

‘You couldn’t tell a convincing lie if your life depended on it.’

Albus noticed Scorpius’s arm twitch, and figured that if it weren’t for Madam Malkin’s efforts with the measuring tape, he’d be getting a whack on the arm.

‘Yes. I do agree with her,’ Scorpius said slowly, choosing his words carefully. ‘It’s like we were saying last night: you said our fathers should have resolved their issues sooner. Maybe they aren’t the only ones who could go for a spot of reconciliation.’ He gave a tentative thumbs-up with one hand, then snapped his arm back to his side before the black-haired woman did it for him.

Albus was quiet for a moment while Madam Malkin pulled the robes off his shoulders, gesturing for her assistant to do the same. As they did so, he kept his face firmly fixed to the ground to hide his scowl.

Granted, he and Rose had been pretty good friends growing up—Granger-Weasley-Potter family gatherings had generally consisted of Rose dragging Albus around to socialise with cousins and siblings, or good-naturedly boasting about the hundredth book she’d read that week while Albus smiled and nodded, and, in dire situations, silently willed James and Teddy would come and rescue him. But during their time at Hogwarts, a frostiness had developed between the two of them, and after her treatment of Scorpius in first year, Albus had developed a grudge that he was reluctant to let thaw.

‘You know she was never exactly the number one fan of our friendship,’ Albus eventually muttered under his breath.

Scorpius exhaled through his teeth. ‘Agreed, but let’s be real, Albus, we’ve changed a lot over the last few years, so it’s time to accept that she’s changed her mind about a few things too. Lest we forget her attempt to start over last year.’

‘An attempt which I rejected,’ Albus grumbled, moving his head to glance at his friend over Madam Malkin’s shoulders as she scurried past with their measurements. He was always amazed that Scorpius wasn’t bearing the same grudge as him. On the contrary: Scorpius had spent years pining after Rose, in spite of how little she’d thought of him. Albus would have admired his friend’s optimism were it not for the fact that he didn’t think Rose was remotely worthy of his affections.

‘You had good reason at the time,’ Scorpius admitted. ‘But I think it’s about time to try again. Not that she’s expecting you to make the first move, or anything,’ he added hastily. Then he paused. ‘…Except she sort-of is.’

Albus sighed, glancing over at Madam Malkin, who was making her way over to the front desk. Their new robes floated just behind her, then folded themselves neatly on the till-point. Despite his reluctance, and his stubbornness to let go of his grudge, deep down he knew Scorpius was right. Plus, he knew that Rose would be too stubborn to make the first move again. He’d often heard Ron comment on her obstinacy, and how like her mother she was, at which point everyone present agreed, including Rose.

‘In the spirit of resolving past conflict, I’ll talk to her,’ Albus said grudgingly as they wandered over to pay, watching the black-haired woman pack the robes into two paper bags. ‘You’re usually right about this sort of stuff.’ He glanced at Scorpius, who was now looking very smug. ‘I’ll write and briefly tell her I want to talk. May as well let her prepare a lecture beforehand, as she’ll be giving me one regardless.’

‘That can be a job for this evening,’ Scorpius said gleefully, rummaging in his pocket for his wallet.

Albus rolled his eyes as he did the same. ‘You’re far too pleased with yourself about this.’ He counted out the galleons and sickles onto the counter, and thanked Madam Malkin as he took the paper bag she offered him.

Scorpius paid for his robes and thanked both Madam Malkin and the black-haired woman very sincerely. She nodded appreciatively and gave a small smile as they turned away and headed towards the door. Albus reckoned she was probably more relieved than anything.

‘So, has this been a long-term scheme of yours and Rose’s?’ he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

‘Yeah…’ Scorpius confessed, giving a quick grateful smile as Albus pulled the door open and propped it open with his foot so Scorpius could exit first. ‘Just a smidge. Only in the last few weeks. And only because she didn’t want to approach me about it during school while I was with you.’

Albus huffed in amusement. That didn’t surprise him. Rose had been relatively civil to Scorpius all year—especially as he’d been a regular to Quidditch matches, and in spite of the changing times, any form of Slytherin support for Gryffindor was still a rarity. Her encounters with Albus, however, had become few and far between as the school year drew to a close; when they did run into each other, she’d look at him with an expression of either disinterest or expectancy that made Albus increasingly more keen to avoid a direct confrontation. And now, the only way they were guaranteed to meet up was at a massive Granger-Weasley-Potter family gathering. Surprisingly, there hadn’t been one yet that summer, but knowing the closeness of their families, it was only a matter of time.

Scorpius looked thoughtful as he stepped out into the daylight, blinking at the sudden brightness after the darkness of the shop. ‘I’ve got to hand it to Rose—she may be unwilling to talk to you face to face, but she’s very good at expressing her feelings about it in writing. She has an excellent prose style.’

Albus wheezed. ‘ _An excellent prose style_. Did you put that in the Valentine’s Day poem you sent her last year?

Scorpius scowled. ‘Enough with the embarrassing Rose-related flashbacks. Seriously though, she is genuinely good!’ he insisted. ‘She’ll be writing columns about us in the _Daily Prophet_ before we know it.’

Albus stepped outside after Scorpius, shoving his wallet back in his pocket and turning to his friend.

‘Ugh, no, this is a terrible idea. She’s going to literally, literarily _destroy_ me,’ he laughed. ‘Tell you what: if we run into Ron in the shop, I’ll ask him about organising a family reunion, or something. I’ll need the moral support of the rest of the family if I’m going to confront her.’ He clapped his friend on the back. ‘And don’t think you’re getting out of this. You’ll be there during the confrontation whether you like it or not.’

Scorpius’s face lit up. ‘I will?’

Albus laughed, rolling his eyes. ‘Naturally! Honorary familial membership means you get the full package—extended family and all. And if you think the Potters are good at adopting people into the family, then wait until Molly Weasley gets her hands on you.’

* * *

‘Aw, Albus, I knew you missed us really.’ Ron grinned, pushing a box of Puking Pastilles back onto a shelf in the storeroom of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. ‘Reuniting the hoard of Potters and Weasleys this week is an excellent idea.’

Scorpius gave a proud smile, jokingly patting Albus on the head. ‘He’s getting better at expressing affection, isn’t he?’

While Albus gave Scorpius a scathing look that would’ve made Ginny proud, Ron let out a guffaw of laughter. ‘Damnit, Scorp, comedy’s supposed to be my forte in this line of work. I tend to leave the witty banter to George. And Hugo,’ he added, a hint of genuine pride in his voice. ‘He inherited his father’s charm and every ounce of his uncle Fred’s witty repertoire, so look out guys and gals.’ Ron jumped off the stepladder and turned to face Albus and Scorpius. ‘On the subject of my offspring, how’s Rose treating you?’ he directed at Scorpius, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Scorpius shrugged. ‘Just friends. I think we’re both happier that way.’ He sounded so nonchalant that it caught Albus slightly off guard.

Ron winced, mistaking the shrug for begrudged acceptance. ‘Don’t take it too personally,’ he said sympathetically. ‘As with everything in life, Rose sets herself incredibly high standards. Not to say she doesn’t deem you worthy, but I think getting ‘Os’ in all eleven of her O.W.L.s, becoming Head Girl, and generally being the greatest student Hogwarts has ever seen is currently higher on her radar than having a love interest.’ He gave Scorpius an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

Scorpius laughed. ‘I don’t doubt her academic goals. In fact, I don’t think anyone in Hogwarts does. She’s got an admirable knack for getting exactly what she wants, and working incredibly hard to do so.’

Ron chuckled. ‘Remind you of anyone?’ He turned to the shelves once more, rubbed the back of his head and counted a few more boxes. ‘Here,’ he said, handing Albus a plastic container of ink cartridges filled with a shimmering, silver fluid, and Scorpius a box of rather ordinary-looking quills. ‘Take these upstairs to the till, and a shop assistant will unpack them. Feel free to help yourself to a couple while you’re here. Scorpius here has been bulk buying vanishing ink online all summer.’ He winked. ‘Probably for all the letters you sent Rose, right Scorp?’

Scorpius blushed, and Albus rolled his eyes jokingly, hiding his confusion. _Vanishing ink?_ Albus now sincerely doubted that Scorpius _hadn’t_ made some sort of love proclamation unsuitable for regular, non-vanishing ink. Not that Hermione and Ron were the sort of parents who would read Rose’s mail—Scorpius was probably very easily embarrassed about this sort of thing.

He thought it was strange that Scorpius hadn’t said anything about it—but then again, Scorpius was also aware of how much talking about his feelings for Rose weirded Albus out. Albus had made that abundantly clear by midway through second year, when Scorpius’s infatuation had really started to grate on him. It wasn’t that Albus didn’t care; it just seemed to be all Scorpius could ever talk about.

He’d always felt an odd sort of jealousy in the obsessive, lovesick way Scorpius talked about her, her interests, and their hypothetical future together. They’d actually discussed it towards the end of the school year, particularly after Albus’s alleged infatuation with Delphi; Albus still denied he’d liked her in that way, but in a perverse way, he’d almost enjoyed seeing Scorpius’s jealousy over their closeness. The feeling hadn’t lasted long, though; he’d missed confiding in his best friend too much. He’d guiltily admitted this about his ‘friendship’ with Delphi to Scorpius one night as they lay awake in the dormitory, and Scorpius had reassured him that it was fine, and that nothing would come between them again. They’d left the conversation there, though; talking in detail about Rose—and therefore about their love lives—made Albus uncomfortable, for some reason.

Albus shook himself, reassured, assuming Scorpius was probably just sparing him this awkwardness. Scorpius may well have been writing personal things to Rose, and Albus was adamant that he didn’t want to know what was in those letters.

He zoned back into reality as Ron continued: ‘Plus, James just bought enough merchandise to open his own shop, so you’re entitled to a few freebies.’

Albus and Scorpius groaned loudly while Ron laughed and picked up a couple more boxes himself, nodding his head in the direction of the stairs. ‘Chip off the old block is James,’ Ron said cheerily. ‘I bet his mother’s so proud.’

They trooped upstairs and into the main shop. Although it was spread over several levels, each floor of the shop was already teeming with customers; people were testing out products and admiring the intricate displays of trinkets and joke products, and everyone gawped at some point or another at the mini fireworks displays that went on overhead, while Albus had another unpleasant flashback to James’s incident the week before. An enchanted harpsichord played a jaunty, upbeat melody behind them, the tune mingling with the peals of laughter and delighted shouts coming from all directions—including from Scorpius.

‘Ooooh, Albus, look!’

Albus put his box down next to Scorpius’s box of quills, and glanced up to see his friend cooing over a counter topped with Pygmy Puff cages.

‘I’m surprised you haven’t got one at the moment,’ Scorpius said excitedly, peering into a cage and giving a pale lilac-coloured Pygmy Puff a small pet with his finger through the metal bars. ‘Would your parents totally object to you bringing one home today?’

Albus came and stood by his friend’s side, leaning on the counter to look into the mini enclosure. ‘ _I_ would object. Okay,’ he said, raising his hands in defeat as Scorpius looked at him in dismay. ‘I know there is photographic evidence in my own home suggesting otherwise, but I’ve got to be honest: they kind of freak me out.’

Albus had never seen Scorpius look more affronted.

‘Albus, they’re _literally just balls of fluff_ ,’ Scorpius said, disbelieving. ‘What’s not to love about them?’ He gestured emphatically to the lilac Pygmy Puff, staring at his friend in disbelief. ‘Did you know that a group of Pygmy Puffs is called a _poffle?_ A _POFFLE,_ Albus! How can anything that can be described as a “poffle” be even remotely intimidating?’

‘I’ll accept the fact that ‘poffle’ is an adorable word, but I don’t know…’ Albus fumbled for an explanation. ‘They’re just sort of… creepy-looking?’

‘ _How?’_ Scorpius spluttered incredulously, attracting the attention of a few customers who were admiring the display of Extendable Ears.

‘Easy, Scorpius,’ Ron said, appearing behind them with some carrier bags decorated with an embellished ‘ _WWW_ ’. He smiled reassuringly at the perturbed customers, then turned his attention to his nephew. ‘I get where Al is coming from. They kind of remind me of rodents, so I’ve never really been a fan.’

‘ _Thank you_!’ Albus said appreciatively, trying not to laugh as Scorpius’s jaw dropped further. ‘Don’t worry, Scorpius, I’m not saying _you_ can’t get one. In fact, I’m sure your father would love one—it’s just what Malfoy Manor needs.’

Ron cackled with laughter, while Scorpius looked vaguely crestfallen. ‘I wish I could take one home,’ he sniffed. ‘But you know Dad’s allergic to anything with so much as a handful of fur.’ He looked pleadingly at Albus. ‘ _Please_ let me live vicariously through you—we can co-own?’

Albus shook his head firmly. ‘I’m sorry, I know we’re already pretty domestic, but I refuse to raise a poffle with you.’

Ron leaned over, interested. ‘Draco’s allergic?’

Scorpius nodded furiously. ‘Cats, dogs, horses; you name it, he sneezes when it’s in the room.’ He regarded Ron with a look of suspicion while Albus broke in:

‘You’ve elected to ignore the obvious fact here. You are _also_ allergic to everything under the sun _._ What’s to say you’re not allergic to pygmy puffs too?’ Albus challenged.

Ron inhaled sharply through his teeth as Scorpius digested the question.

‘What’s to say I am?’ Scorpius rebuked. ‘I may not have inherited _all_ of his allergies.’

‘Oh, let me think why—perhaps it’s because you sneeze violently whenever anyone’s cat follows them into the library? Or maybe it’s because of the allergy enchantments Flitwick had to cast in the common room after McLaggen smuggled in his puppy to stop you from suffocating. And I haven’t seen you with horses, but I don’t imagine it’s pretty. Come on, Scorpius, basic human biology. You’re meant to be the brains here.’

‘And I thought you were meant to be the brave one? Aww, Albus, is this Pygmy Puff too intimidating?’ Scorpius simpered, pointing to the cage. ‘Oh wait, my mistake, this _horrifying creature_ is clearly plotting to kill you in your sleep, and is _obviously_ capable of disabling a wizard with its two inches of coloured fur and _vast knowledge_ of dark magic.’

‘Its fur is full of secrets,’ Ron muttered, in full agreement with Albus at this point.

‘I tell you what,’ Albus countered, a smirk creeping across his face. ‘I will buy a Pygmy Puff, with my _own savings,_ for us to co-own and bring to Hogwarts, _if_ you can prove you’re not allergic to it.’

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, while Ron’s widened significantly. ‘And I get to name it?’

Albus folded his arms. ‘Only if it takes my surname.’

Ron whistled, scratching his head. ‘You two weren’t kidding when you said you were domestic,’ he muttered under his breath.

‘You are _on_ ,’ Scorpius hissed. Albus would have been amused, but Scorpius was formidably competitive, in sports and quizzes alike, and currently there was a familiar competitive gleam in his friend’s eye that was highly disconcerting. ‘Ron, may I?’

Ron leapt into action, diving down behind the counter and past a rather disgruntled-looking shop assistant, and bobbed back brandishing a small bunch of keys. He paused for a moment, briefly contemplating something.

‘I’ll be with you in a sec,’ Ron said quickly, ducking past the shop assistant again while Albus and Scorpius stared each other down. ‘I’ve just going to grab George. He’ll want to see and/or film this.’

* * *

‘I dob’t understand. Surely I’b around Pygmy Puffs all the tibe at school? Their fur doebn’t affect be _dis_ much.’

‘Scorpius, name the last time you saw a Pygmy Puff anywhere near the Slytherin common room.’

‘ _Ugh._ ’

Albus passed his friend another tissue. ‘My point exactly.’

‘Wow.’

Albus glanced over his shoulder as George dodged through the door and past a customer to join them outside, looking far too cheery for someone who had just watched Scorpius have a severe allergic reaction to an animal sold in his shop. He sat down next to Scorpius, who was perched next to Albus on the corner of the shop doorstep.

‘Well, Scorpius, I want to congratulate you on successfully incapacitating my brother. If he ever stops laughing, he might join us out here to check on your wellbeing.’ George gave Scorpius, whose face was buried in a tissue, a congratulatory pat on the back. Scorpius lifted his face slightly and gave a pathetic smile.

‘I wish I could feel more sorry for you, but you did just shove your entire face into a Pygmy Puff’s fur,’ George said merrily, peering around Scorpius to address Albus. ‘Don’t worry, Al, I filmed the entire thing. Uncle of the Year award goes to me.’

Scorpius gave a disgruntled sniff. ‘We are _neber_ going to watch dat—’

‘Quiet, you,’ George interjected. He produced a wad of tissues from his blazer pocket and chucked them over to Albus, who was caught off guard, and had to scramble to catch them. ‘No talking until we’ve fixed your breathing problem. Be thankful that your trusty friend the Skiving Snackbox can cure basically any sinus ailment. Excuse the shameless product promotion.’ George hurled a box of tablets over to Albus, who was forced to make another sudden dive to catch it. He scowled as he popped a tablet out of the box and passed it to Scorpius, wondering if this was how his mother felt when she had to deal with the medical consequences of James and Teddy’s antics.

As if reading Albus’s mind, George suddenly looked anxious. ‘And for the love of Merlin, please don’t tell your mother I supported this. In fact, tell her I’m looking into breeding hypoallergenic Pygmy Puffs. Which I am, as of today,’ he said sincerely. ‘Our merchandise causes enough explosions without us having to worry about exploding noses.’

Scorpius swallowed the tablet, paused, and wiped his nose with a tissue, giving an experimental sniff. ‘Ahh, hello again, sweet oxygen.’ He beamed at Albus. ‘And you hear that? _Hypoallergenic._ ’

Albus groaned inwardly as George gave Scorpius another clap on the back. ‘That’s the spirit! Anyway, Al, Ron is game for assembling the family this Thursday—we’ll owl your parents at the end of the day, and we’ll tell them it was your idea. That’ll make them happy.’

Albus snorted. ‘It will. I’m usually avoiding social situations instead of initiating them.’

Scorpius nodded. ‘I can confirm this. Not that I’m much better.’

George smiled warmly as Albus handed back the box of tablets. He grabbed his wand out of his blazer pocket, and with a wave removed the small pile of used tissues from Scorpius’s lap. ‘Right, I’ll head back in and make sure this footage of Scorpius’s exploding nose is suitable for a public showing on Thursday. That, and I might have customers who aren’t your brother to sort out. And if the footage so much as contains a glimpse of Ron or I looking anything other than concerned for Scorpius’s health, then it needs to be scrubbed.’

George winked at the two boys, slipping his wand back into his pocket and jumping up to head back inside the shop. ‘And stay away from Pygmy Puffs for the day, Scorpius!’ he called behind him as he closed the door. A split second later, he emerged partially from behind the door. ‘Seriously, you’re literally not allowed back in this shop until we do a disinfection. Not company policy or anything. I’d just rather you didn’t snot all over the merch any more than you already have.’ George grinned and clicked his fingers at Scorpius before disappearing behind the door once more.

Albus laughed. ‘This might be the first time you’ve been even close to being banned from a shop. Your rebellious streak really is coming out.’

Scorpius sniffed. ‘Forget my snot-related vandalism. I’m more concerned that the first time I attend a gathering of the _entire_ of my best friend’s family, the entertainment is going to consist of the showing of a video of a snotty Scorpius committing said snotty crimes against nature.’

‘Please stop saying snotty.’

‘Well, when you’ve been through what I have, it’s snot that easy.’

Albus let out a disgusted ‘ _Ugh_ ’ and shoved Scorpius off the step. ‘It’ll be fine. Most of the family have very similar senses of humour.’ He exhaled slowly. ‘Plus, there’ll probably be a few people from school there, and they already know we’re complete dorks, so this video won’t change that. So what could go wrong?’

* * *

‘I’m afraid to ask, but aside from what you were actually supposed to get, what did you two end up buying?’

Albus rubbed his forehead, looking pained. ‘Please don’t make him get them out again.’

Scorpius, with a mischievous grin on his face, proceeded to abruptly empty an entire carrier bag of assorted sweets, quidditch badges, and various bookmarks, pens, and general trinkets onto the kitchen table. He bent over to his left, then plonked a massive pile of leather-bound hardback books onto the table next to the muddled pile, surreptitiously wiping an ice-cream stain from a sizeable Kennilworthy Whisp book. Albus couldn’t quite stifle an amused smile.

Harry raised his eyebrows. ‘Impressive. Albus?’

Albus produced a slightly more acceptably-sized pile of books from a paper bag, harshly stuffing Scorpius’s allergy tablets back into the bag as they threatened to make an appearance. That was a story best saved for Thursday.

Harry ran his finger down the book spines, counting. ‘ _Defensive Magical Theory, Standard Book of Spells Grade 5, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles_ ,’ he muttered to himself, listing the titles. He leaned back in his chair. ‘Okay, where’s the rest of them?’

Before Albus could stop him, Scorpius, shooting an apologetic look at his friend, produced another brown paper bag from underneath the table, this time with much more difficulty, and slammed it on the table, causing Harry’s mug of tea to rattle with its weight.

Harry nodded. ‘There it is.’

‘I should’ve predicted it,’ Ginny snorted, heading past them towards the back door with a handful of shoes. ‘People in Florean’s were practically tripping over them.’

‘Their fault for having such small tables, really,’ Scorpius murmured reassuringly to Albus.

Granted, Albus hadn’t intended to buy this many books. However, after watching Scorpius spend the entire Malfoy family fortune buying his body weight in sweets, his purchase hadn’t seemed quite so extravagant.

At the time.

‘Go on.’ Addressing her husband, Ginny gestured to the bag of books with a sandal. ‘Two knuts if you can guess how many.’

Harry raised his eyebrows, and exhaled slowly. ‘Eight.’

Ginny shook her head. ‘Nope. Albus, care to enlighten him?’

Albus scowled. ‘He wasn’t far off.’ He paused. ‘Ten.’

Harry banged the table in mock frustration, as Ginny laughed, heading outside.

Scorpius cackled. ‘I take it this is a regular occurrence?’

Not quite sure if he was offended or amused, Albus shrugged. ‘Only when I’m let loose in a bookshop without adult supervision. I’ve never really been one for ordering books online, so I only go wild in bookshops a couple times a year.’

Harry snorted. ‘That’s a relief for all of us.’

Albus raised his eyebrows. ‘Just wait until we start going to Hogsmeade. Our book collection will start rivalling the Malfoys’.’

Harry frowned. ‘Hogsmeade?’

Albus exchanged a glance with Scorpius, who was regarding him with a surprised expression, then slowly nodded.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I thought this year it’d be, y’know. Nice.’ He twisted and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. Having stowed it there earlier that morning, he’d mulled it over all day, and eventually decided to swallow his pride and go for it. ‘So, um. Dad, could you sign this, please? Or Mum can sign it, or whatever.’ He passed the Hogsmeade permission slip over to Harry, trying not to let him see his hand shaking.

Harry glanced from Albus to the letter, and back again, then flicked his wand and turned his teaspoon into a quill. A silence crept over the room as Harry signed his name, while Albus avoided eye contact and pushed away the memory of what had happened the last time his father had signed the letter. Sensing his discomfort, Scorpius gave his friend a reassuring nudge with his knee under the table.

Albus gave a small smile and held out his hand as Harry passed the letter back. ‘Thanks,’ he said quickly. ‘I’ll, um, buy you a chocolate frog when I go. I still haven’t managed to get one that has you on a card.’

Harry nodded, looking slightly dumbfounded. ‘Yeah, okay,’ he said, quickly clearing his throat. ‘You’ll really like Hogsmeade. It’s good to escape from school now and then to go out with friends.’ Albus knew this was a repeat of what his father had said two years ago, but noted the difference in delivery, the desperate enthusiasm now replaced with sincerity. Albus guiltily acknowledged how hard his father had tried to ensure he enjoyed himself at Hogwarts, aware of how he pushed away everything remotely similar to Harry’s experience. _Merlin, I was pathetic._

‘Yeah, it’ll be fun,’ Albus said, giving a small smile and getting up from his chair. ‘You can have a look through the books, if you like,’ he gestured to the pile of books on the table, clearing his throat. ‘There’s probably a few crime ones you’d like.’

Harry smiled. ‘Thanks. We’ll call you down for dinner,’ he added as Albus turned to the hallway.

‘Okay.’

Scorpius gave an awkward little wave and trotted after Albus. As they turned towards the stairs at the end of the hallway, they heard Harry’s chair scraping on the kitchen floor.

‘Gin? Can you come in here for a moment?’

Scorpius silently placed a hand on Albus’s shoulder, the sound of Harry’s incredulity fading as they made their way upstairs.

* * *

‘Wow.’ Scorpius spoke up after his several-minute silence downstairs. ‘Talk about dramatic change of heart.'

Albus exhaled slowly, leaning back on the wall by his bed with his eyes closed. ‘I guess? I mean, like I said before summer, I don’t see the harm in it. I think he’s right: it’ll make a nice change.’ He went quiet, but he could tell Scorpius knew he wasn’t finished from the way he was anxiously chewing his lip. Scorpius sat down at the end of the bed patiently, bringing his feet up and hugging his knees.

‘I think,’ Albus continued slowly, his eyes still closed, rubbing his forehead, ‘I’m just worried that Dad will see it as part of the great “Albus is a changed man thanks to his traumatic experience and family bonding moment” thing, and that things like suddenly wanting to go to Hogsmeade are going to make him think I’m suddenly going to become magically more sociable and become the Slytherin Seeker.’ He gave a small snort of laughter. ‘We both know that isn’t going to happen.’

‘I think he does realise this,’ Scorpius interjected, ‘because he seems much more willing to accept you for who you are now. Instead of waiting for you to become someone else.’

‘Like he has for the last fifteen years,’ Albus finished.

‘Exactly. I think if anything, he’s both surprised and glad to see you trying new things. This doesn’t have to involve quidditch,’ Scorpius added, giving a small thumbs-up. ‘I’ll cover that ground for you.’

‘Appreciated. He’s probably just glad to see me stop being petty,’ Albus added bitterly. ‘He knew as well as I did that I only burned the letter to spite him.’

Scorpius smiled. ‘Exactly,’ he repeated. ‘So what you did just now was a gesture of making peace, if anything. Plus, he does know you pretty well—your book problem is hardly a secret.’ Scorpius stretched his legs out and hopped off the bed. ‘You’re lucky you’ll have me to keep tabs on your spending.’

Albus scoffed. ‘Says the guy who spent _five Galleons_ on sweets.’

‘Says the guy who bought three vials of ink.’

‘I have a letter to write, remember? Ugh, speaking of, I better get started.’

‘Yes, you will.’ Scorpius gave Albus’s arm an encouraging tug, and pulled him off the bed. ‘Stop sulking and get writing.’

Albus rolled his eyes and shook his friend off. ‘ _Alright._ Let’s do this,’ he huffed. ‘What could go wrong, right?’

* * *

‘This is going _horribly wrong_.’

Scorpius craned his neck and read over Albus’s shoulder. ‘Albus, you’ve literally written four words. ‘ _Rose, Just to say…’_ ’

‘Just to say _what_? How on _earth_ am I supposed to fit in two years of frustration, one year of uncalled-for frostiness, and a grovel for reconciliation onto a page of A4 parchment?’

Albus groaned and slumped over dramatically on the desk. Scorpius had announced he’d accompany him in letter writing, and would write a letter home while Albus wrote his letter to Rose. He had sat curled up at the end of Albus’s bed with his head bent and his brow furrowed as he scribbled away on the piece of paper for the last half an hour. Albus was, much to his exasperation, less inspired, despite having the incentive of getting to use the new ink he’d bought from Amanuensis Quills. Especially now it was looking like he’d see Rose in a couple of days’ time, he was keen to clear the air between them as soon as possible.

Scorpius exhaled through his teeth. ‘I would write it for you, but she’d know if it was me. She says I write like I speak—awkwardly and uniquely.’

Albus frowned. ‘Unique is right, but I don’t think you write awkwardly. You do write like you speak, which is more of a… stream of consciousness. Quirky thoughts and all.’ He smiled fondly, then gave his quill an aggravated shake to encourage more ink out of it.

Scorpius let out a huff of laughter. ‘At least someone thinks it’s endearing. Dad’s always badgering me to be more concise. In writing, and in life.’

‘Says the man who lives in a massive mansion with an overflowing library and a hoard of riches.’

‘Hey, you know he donated at least two thirds of that to _St Mungo’s_ while Mum was there. And besides, there was no way we could physically keep all the random jewellery and statues without house elves or some sort of servant.’

Albus nodded knowingly. ‘I would have paid to see your grandad’s face when Draco swore he’d never own a house elf,’ he said distractedly, glaring at the parchment, as if willing it to write the words for him.

Scorpius cackled. ‘I’m pretty sure he threw a tiara at Dad. Or something shiny, anyway. I was pretty young.’ He tutted. ‘ _Letter-writing,_ Albus.’

Albus grimaced, and leaned back precariously on his chair, absent-mindedly turning his quill over and over in his hand. ‘Okay, how about this: _Rose, just to say I apologise for being a prize git over the last few years. We’re both too proud to apologise to each other, so we may as well settle with admitting you’re right, shaking hands good-naturedly, and calling it even, just so you don’t murder me in my sleep. See you on Thursday—from your tenth-favourite cousin.’_

Scorpius sighed wistfully. ‘You’ve always had such a way with words.’

‘I will decant this bottle of ink onto your quidditch book.’

Scorpius gasped in mock scandalisation, and laughed at Albus’s scowl. ‘Though I have to say, writing something along those lines isn’t such a bad shout.’ He dropped his piece of paper to one side, picking up another blank piece from Albus’s desk. ‘Here.’

He chewed on the end of his quill for a second, then scribbled a couple of sentences onto the page. Albus drummed his hands agitatedly on his desk, but stopped when Scorpius paused to raise his head and glare at him disapprovingly. Albus raised his hands apologetically; he knew Scorpius struggled to concentrate when there was anyone nearby so much as twitching their fingers.

After a few moments of brow-furrowing and lip-biting, Scorpius gave a satisfied nod, and scrambled over the bed to thrust the paper in Albus’s direction. He leaned over Albus’s shoulder to read with him; his hair tickled Albus’s neck, and Albus was suddenly hyper-aware of their close proximity. Again, he felt annoyed with himself— _this has never been a problem before._ He was probably just not used to being around Scorpius after a month apart. _That has to be it._

He focused intently Scorpius’s writing to distract himself. Having studied together for four years, Albus was accustomed to his friend’s scrawling handwriting, but found it no less illegible. He squinted at the spidery script, cleared his throat, and read aloud:

‘ _Rose— It’s hardly a secret that we haven’t been getting along for a few years now. I don’t want to place the blame on either of us—all I know is that a lot has happened in the last year, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve all grown up a bit since our last disagreements. You’re family, and have always been important to me, even when we haven’t got along. It’d be great to talk things over on Thursday—I’m not the best at talking about feelings at the best of times, so would much rather discuss it in person instead of via owl. See you in a few days—Albus.’_

Nodding approvingly, Albus smoothed out the piece of paper on the desk. ‘This isn’t half bad. And you’re not wrong about the talking about feelings part,’ he added, smirking. ‘That bit is self-deprecating enough to sound like me writing.’

Albus sensed Scorpius smiling smugly next to him. He leaned away from Albus and picked up his own letter again, and settled with his back against the wall. ‘I aim to please.’

Despite Albus’s uneasiness at their closeness, he felt a pang of disappointment as Scorpius moved away. _Make your mind up,_ he thought crossly.

‘Right,’ Albus said out loud, half to himself, as he shook off whatever it was he was feeling. He hastily rearranged the papers on his desk—nearly knocking over a pen pot in the process—and stacked the books he’d purchased that day into a pile, using them to prop up Scorpius’s version of the letter to copy from. ‘Once I’ve copied this up and sent it, we can go grab dinner and then see if James will let us on the Xbox.’ He shook his head disbelievingly. ‘I still can’t believe you’ve never played on a games console.’

‘Not quite,’ Scorpius said slowly, sticking his tongue out in concentration as he finished writing a sentence. ‘Remember on the first day of second year, when Victor McLaggen had managed to smuggle in his Nintendo? I watched over his shoulder and then had a go on it about five minutes before he had it confiscated by a prefect!’

‘That barely counts! You have been missing out, my friend. This week is definitely becoming an education for you. One thing I’ll make sure of is that we don’t play anything football-related, though,’ Albus said, turning to Scorpius with a grimace on his face. ‘James and Teddy are _Fifa_ fanatics, but the game itself is my worst nightmare.’

Scorpius nodded, finishing writing his letter with a flourish. ‘Fair enough,’ he agreed, folding up the letter hastily. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much though,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’ll be very easily entertained by any game you present me with, as it’s all a novelty to me after my atrociously muggle-deficient upbringing.’

Albus laughed and turned back to his desk to write the letter, only to find that the sheet of paper Scorpius had given him was blank; the few sentences of his friend’s scrawling handwriting had completely vanished.

Frowning, he picked up the paper, and pushed it in Scorpius’s direction. ‘What gives?’

Scorpius eyebrows shot up. ‘Bugger! I must have opened the, uh, wrong bottle of ink we bought earlier. You know—got the invisible ink Ron gave us mixed up with the new ink you bought.’ He gave a nervous laugh as Albus tutted loudly.

‘You muppet. I know James has a Revealer lurking somewhere in his pigsty of a room—I’ll go grab it. I’m sort of relying on being able to read your writing.’

Albus feigned throwing his quill at Scorpius as he jogged out of the room, who laughed and ducked out of the line of fire. As he dashed down the hallway, he had an urge to whack himself around the forehead to knock the weird, indecipherable feelings towards Scorpius out of his head. _It must’ve been something I ate_ , he decided anxiously as he entered James’s room. He was keen to not think about it any further—for whatever reason, these feelings were alien enough that some part of him didn’t want to look into it too closely.

After rummaging in James’s desk drawers for a couple of minutes, Albus victoriously produced the red tool that resembled an eraser. He’d known it was around there somewhere. Harry was forever accidentally using James’s invisible ink when dictating important letters for work; this always led to an angry shout of _‘JAMES!’,_ followed by a frantic-looking Harry scrubbing manically at a piece of parchment with the tool. No matter how much he gritted his teeth and repeatedly announced that it was the ‘ _exact opposite of amusing_ ,’ the rest of the family still stood nearby and watched the events unfold, thoroughly entertained, and offering no help whatsoever.

Albus jogged back down the corridor. As he hovered outside the doorway to kick aside a paper bag from their shopping earlier—one of three bags of sweets that Scorpius had bought—he heard the bedroom window closing.

He poked his head around the door. ‘Just sending your letter?’

Scorpius peered over his shoulder as he pulled one of the curtains closed. ‘Yep! Merc’s on his way— hopefully then he’ll be back in time for you to send your letter to Rose. I figured you’d want a bit longer.’

Albus strode over to help, tugging the other curtain shut. ‘Good plan.’ He plonked himself back down at the desk, Revealer in hand. ‘I’m incredibly grateful you didn’t compose an essay for this letter, or else we’d be here scrubbing at the paper for hours.’

Scorpius leaned on the back of the chair to watch, resting an arm on Albus’s shoulder. ‘What do you know—I’m learning to be concise after all!’

Albus chuckled and got to work with Scorpius leaning over his shoulder, ensuring his handwriting was being read correctly. As he wrote, it crossed his mind that Scorpius must have made the same mistake when writing his own letter, and used invisible ink instead—but he hadn’t waited to use the Revealer on his letter before sending it. Albus paused for the briefest of moments, confused, and contemplated asking Scorpius if he had accidentally used the invisible ink too.

Then he huffed in amusement. Draco didn’t live in the dark ages—he probably had his own Revealer. And if not, Scorpius probably had about twenty; both him and Albus were equally as stationary-obsessed. _In spite of this, Scorpius is still unobservant enough to mix up ink bottles_ , Albus thought fondly.

As he was finishing up the last sentence, Albus jumped as he heard Mercury’s beak tapping on the window, and Scorpius moved to part the curtains. _That was quick_ , Albus thought to himself in surprise. Draco lived miles away—Albus clearly didn’t give Mercury enough credit for his deliveries. He signed his name and folded up the paper slowly, then gave Mercury a stroke on the head as he hopped cheerily onto his desk with an affectionate hoot.

‘Do I really have to send this?’ Albus questioned, half to himself, holding the letter in front of him.

Scorpius pulled it out of his friend’s hands, ignoring his yelp of protest. ‘It’s for your own good, Albus,’ he said firmly, tying the letter onto Mercury’s leg. ‘And for the good of the _whole family_ ,’ he added solemnly, parting the curtains again to open the window.

Albus snorted. ‘Bit dramatic. Come on, let’s head downstairs. Best not mention to Mum or Dad that I’ve sent Rose a letter, though. I’ve already willingly initiated a social gathering – I don’t want to raise their opinion of me too much in one day.’ His stomach turned slightly as he saw Mercury flying off into the evening, but he reassured himself with Scorpius’s—albeit dramatic—words. This probably was for the good of the whole family. He prayed that Rose would see it too.

* * *

Albus and Scorpius were the last to head inside after dinner. They’d sat around outdoors to eat, like the night before, and had watched James show off his purchases to everyone, insisting he hadn’t bought anything outrageous and had stuck only to the essentials. Teddy had been uncharacteristically quiet all evening, appearing deep in thought, but in response to James’s claim, he’d smirked and flicked his wand, sending a massive bag with an embellished ‘ _WWW’_ logo flying out of the window and smacking on the lawn in front of them, much to everyone’s amusement.

As everyone had begun to head indoors, Lily put in her headphones, tapped her phone screen a few times, then slyly plucked a few Skiving Snackbox items from the bag and shoved them into her pocket before James noticed. Scorpius observed this as he and Albus began clearing up the chairs, and smiled to himself.

‘I don’t usually see you use yours,’ he commented a few minutes later as they stacked the lawn chairs at the bottom of the garden.

‘My what?’ Albus said, his voice strained as he hauled the last plastic chair onto the shadiest patch of grass.

Scorpius picked it up and stacked it on the pile with the others. ‘Your phone,’ he said. ‘You know, those things that you use to contact people? To stay in touch with the outside world?’

Albus snorted, rubbing his now sore shoulder. ‘Why do I feel like that was a personal attack on my ability to socialise?’

Scorpius smiled cheekily, wiping his hands on his jeans to dust off the dirt from the chairs. Lugging the plastic seats to the bottom of the garden behind a hedge was never a fun job, especially as they were filthy from lack of use. But Ginny and Harry were happy to take advantage of Albus’s good mood and have him doing some of the dirty work. They would probably continue to do so for the rest of the week, but Albus didn’t mind. Scorpius had volunteered to help.

‘No, I mean, you have a phone,’ Scorpius said, holding a hand over his face to shield his eyes from the sun, which was just beginning to disappear behind the hedge, ‘and a pretty decent one at that. I know we’re not allowed them at school, and I don’t have one myself, so I noticed when Lily was using hers. But I haven’t seen you use your phone while we’ve been here. I was just curious,’ he added, as they began to make their way back up the garden.

Albus shrugged, kicking an old, muddied quaffle out of the way. ‘Lily uses hers to keep in touch with people from school—a lot of her friends are from muggle families, so it makes more sense. James mostly uses his to order things online incognito, and to keep track of quidditch teams and video games.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘I suppose that makes me old-fashioned—I prefer letters.’

‘You’re such a hipster,’ Scorpius teased, before shaking his head. ‘Nah, I think letters are more personal anyway, and it’s more fun receiving those than texts. I think that makes both of us old-fashioned.’

James was sitting by the back door as they headed inside, furiously scrubbing at a pair of muddy quidditch boots. ‘Albus Severus Potter, old-fashioned?’ James said, gritting his teeth as he tried to scrub a particularly nasty lump of mud from the once-red boots. ‘Psh. The boy belongs in the stone age.’

Albus frowned, stopping in the doorway behind James. ‘Didn’t you get a new quidditch kit today? I thought you were throwing those boots out?’

James rolled his eyes. ‘I did, but Hugo’s trying out for the quidditch team this year, and Mum said he could have my old boots. I thought they’d be too small for him, but his shoe size is apparently on course to rival Hagrid’s.’ He exhaled and wiped his brow on the sleeve of his shirt. ‘I’ve got to wash these, all of the shin pads, and the rest of my old uniform for Thursday so we can give them to him then. Thanks a bunch, Al, for kindly suggesting we meet so soon,’ he huffed, shaking his head as Albus and Scorpius exchanged a guilty look. ‘This family and their bloody quidditch.’

As they carried on into the kitchen, Teddy appeared near the door. ‘Sorry guys, just squeezing through,’ he mumbled, sidling past them to get outside. His phone was clutched in his hand, and he raised it to his ear once he was past the doorway, and began talking into the receiver in a quick, hushed tone.

Albus hesitated, and turned back to James as Scorpius stopped at the kitchen counter to pour himself a drink. ‘What’s up with Ted?’

James sighed, pausing his shoe cleaning. ‘He and Vic had a disagreement earlier.’

Albus waited for him to elaborate; when he didn’t, he prompted James onwards. ‘About…?’

Grimacing, James didn’t look up. ‘Let’s just say they’ve got some stuff to figure out.’

Albus winced. ‘Sounds rough.’ Concerned, he glanced over to Teddy, now pacing back and forth at the bottom of the garden. Teddy’s facial expression was indiscernible from the distance, but Albus and James knew him well enough to know when he was really unhappy.

‘Yeah, it happened while we were out earlier, so I had to bail on the guys and come to Ted’s aid. He was pretty shaken up. I’ll wait out here for him,’ James reassured Albus, sensing his brother’s concern, and looking equally troubled himself. ‘You and Scorp are free to use my room.’

‘Thanks,’ Albus managed, surprised at his brother’s generosity—a rare occurrence. _It must be serious._ Something else struck him, too.

‘That’s the first time I’ve heard you call him that,’ Albus said, half to himself.

‘Hmm?’ James looked up at him again.

‘Oh, nothing,’ Albus said, waving him off. He didn’t voice his observation: it was the first time he’d heard James call Scorpius something other than ‘Malfoy’.

Smiling to himself, Albus shot a fleeting glance back at Teddy, then stepped into the kitchen. He caught Scorpius’s eye from across the kitchen, and answered his friend’s confused look with a more convincing smile, indicating everything was okay. _James will know what to say._

‘Thanks for clearing up, guys,’ Ginny called gratefully from the table, where she and Harry were standing hunched over a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. ‘Are you heading up now?’

‘Yeah, we’re going to hijack James’s Xbox,’ Albus said cheerily, concealing his concern. ‘Thanks for keeping him occupied.’

Ginny shrugged. ‘It was unintentional, so I’d be quick if I were you. Oh, Albus, can we have a quick word?’

Albus exchanged a look with Scorpius. ‘Sure.’

Scorpius pointed to the door. ‘I’ll see you up there,’ he said, giving his trademark nervous thumbs-up as he walked towards the door.

Albus smiled fondly after him, before turning back to his parents with a vague look of worry on his face.

Harry laughed at his expression. ‘Don’t look so scared—we’re not going to interrogate you. We just wanted to quickly say thank you. We got an owl from Ron and Hermione arranging a get-together for Thursday. This was a pleasant enough surprise before we read on and saw it was your idea. I couldn’t believe it!’

‘ _That’s_ not surprising,’ Albus muttered.

‘It was just a nice thing of you to do,’ Ginny chipped in, giving Harry a nudge. ‘It’s not like you to organise something like this.’

‘You mean it’s not like me to be nice?’ Albus scoffed. ‘I didn’t really do much—I just suggested it.’

‘You know what I mean,’ Ginny tutted. ‘Regardless, we’re all looking forward to it.’

Harry frowned, making Albus pause as he attempted to turn to walk out of the room. ‘How are you and Rose getting along at the moment? I’m not prying,’ he added, holding up his hands defensively, before Albus could react. ‘I just know you haven’t really got on for the last few years, and it’s… hard not to notice.’ He tactfully left it there, but Albus could guess what was left unsaid. _‘It’s upsetting seeing you two avoid each other when you used to be so close.’_ _Preach it to the choir_ , Albus thought.

‘I’m working on that,’ Albus admitted. He hesitated before confessing: ‘I sent her an owl earlier.’

He didn’t feel the need to elaborate—he was too busy trying not to laugh at his parents’ shocked expressions.

‘What did you—’

‘That’s really good to hear,’ Ginny interrupted her husband before he could pry any further, smiling proudly at Albus. ‘I hope you two can sort things out.’

‘Yeah, yeah, absolutely,’ Harry said quickly. He paused and chuckled. ‘Who are you and what have you done with Albus?’ he joked good-naturedly, exchanging a glance with Ginny. Albus shifted uncomfortably, and Harry awkwardly cleared his throat. ‘I mean, this is a different side to you. It’s nice. Good. We’re just glad you’re happy and sorting things out.’

‘…Thanks.’

Ginny looked from her husband to her son, raising an eyebrow. ‘Okay, enough with the dissection of Albus’s character. Off you go. Have a good evening.’

Albus shot her a grateful look, leaving the room and power-walking speedily down the corridor. He could almost picture his parents exchanging shocked and gleeful looks as he turned away. This day had been bizarre enough without his parents psycho-analysing him. He supposed it was something he had better get used to this week. His parents were right in what they had said the night before: Scorpius one hundred percent brought out the better side of him. _A more sociable side, at least. They’ll get a nasty shock next week when Scorpius has gone_ , Albus thought to himself, amused. Then he shook himself. _Okay, definitely not thinking about next week—Scorpius is here_ now. _Savour it._

* * *

‘It’s entirely your fault, you know.’

‘What, the fact you just lost three matches in a row?’

‘ _No._ Well _, yes_ , you fiend, but not that,’ Albus slammed the controller to the right, crashing into Scorpius, who yelped as the controller was accidentally smashed against his arm. ‘You’re the reason I’ve had so many randomly emotional conversations with my parents.’

Scorpius grinned, keeping his attention on the TV screen. ‘You sure you’re not just mellowing in your old age? _On the left—ON THE LEFT_.’

Albus would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so focused on steering his controller to the left. ‘ _Phew,_ that was close. Thanks for the warning. Now get out of my zone, Malfoy.’ He paused to concentrate, then continued. ‘You know what I mean. My parents think I’m mellowing because of _you_. They can tell the difference even more when you’re here. And they’re not wrong, to be completely honest. Scorp, _GET BACK—_ ugh, too late.’

The screen went black. Albus turned to face Scorpius as the level began to reload. ‘It’s not just that I’m happier around you—well, except I genuinely am—but I’m just a more pleasant person in general. I prefer who I am when I’m around you. Maybe they do too.’

Scorpius looked at him sheepishly. ‘I ditto that.’ His eyes flicked to the screen, and he nudged Albus’s shoulder to get his attention back to the game. ‘But it’s probably because you’re being yourself. Like I said earlier: you always felt you had to pretend to be somebody else, and now you’re sorting things out with your dad, you don’t.’ Scorpius shrugged. ‘Simple.’

Scorpius hesitated, and Albus almost didn’t register how drawn-out the hesitation was before he carried on.

‘If we were being particularly corny, I’d say I’m glad they get to see the Albus that I—’

‘Alright guys, out of my room.’

Albus exclaimed in protest as James swiped the Xbox remote from his grasp. Scorpius leaned backwards instinctively to dodge having his remote swiped, keeping his eyes fixed on the animated figure on the screen.

‘Says who?’ Albus protested, stumbling to his feet to dive after James, who had leapt onto his bed.

‘Says Mum,’ James said triumphantly, hurling himself onto the duvet. ‘She said you have to get an early night. Something about making sure you’re not exhausted tomorrow.’

Scorpius beamed, pressing ‘pause’ and passing his remote over his shoulder to James. ‘Ginny hath spoken,’ he said obligingly, holding his hand out for Albus to pull him up off the ground.

‘Lazy sod,’ Albus muttered, grabbing his friend’s hand and hoisting him up. He paused and frowned at his brother. ‘Wait, aren’t you coming with us tomorrow?’

‘Nope. Been there, done that. Ted and I have more products to test. Better to do that when Mum and Dad are out of the house.’ James smirked. ‘If you see smoke rising in the outskirts of London, don’t be too alarmed.’

‘Sure,’ Albus said sarcastically, eyeing up the suspicious-looking ‘ _WWW’_ bag as he stepped gingerly over a pile of food wrappers. He almost pitied the field that sat behind their house—it seemed it was permanently littered with scorch marks. ‘Is Ted okay?’ he added, frowning.

James gave a half-hearted smile. ‘Yeah, he’s okay. He’s gone back to his grandma’s for tonight, so you may not see him tomorrow, but he’s fine—he and Vic are just not in a good place right now.’ He sighed. ‘I think he needs a distraction, more than anything.’

Albus nodded. He hadn’t the first clue how to comfort someone about relationship-related issues, and was secretly glad he hadn’t had to deal with James having girlfriend before. James seemed to have a good idea about how to help Teddy, though.

‘Okay. Hope he’s alright tomorrow. I’ll see you in the evening—if you’re still in one piece.’

Back upstairs in the attic, Albus and Scorpius were curled up in their pyjamas on the bed, chatting while the TV flickered on quietly in the background.

‘I know you said James’s explosive exploits were a regular occurrence,’ Scorpius said, ‘but now I’m witnessing it myself, I share your concerns.’

Albus laughed. ‘You can’t imagine how afraid we were when he was finally able to use magic at home. We still live in fear of the day he starts enchanting those fireworks himself. Dad’s never seemed to mind too much. He just says they take after his uncles.’

‘Which uncles?’

‘George and Fred. Who else? I mean, I obviously never met Fred, but Dad said he was just as bad as George. Except he doesn’t use the word bad—he prefers the term ‘creative.’’

Scorpius gave a low chuckle, then went quiet. They watched the TV screen for a few moments in a comfortable silence.

‘I know I’ve said this before, but I really wish you could have met Mum properly,’ Scorpius said suddenly.

Albus didn’t turn away from the screen, but was certain that Scorpius could tell he had tensed.

‘I mean, I know you’ve briefly spoken to her at King’s Cross,’ Scorpius said quickly, gabbling slightly. ‘But if you’d come to stay at mine, she would’ve loved it. She was always asking about you. Which was a good thing, because I always had lots to tell her. I know I’ve told you this before, too.’ He laughed nervously. Albus could tell his friend was struggling to keep his voice steady.

‘I would’ve loved it too,’ Albus said quietly.

Scorpius sighed and rested his head on Albus’s shoulder. ‘It doesn’t feel like it’s been three years. Three years tomorrow, even,’ he corrected.

Albus gave a small nod so as not to jolt Scorpius’s head too much. He hadn’t known the exact date, but he remembered. On this day for the last two years, he’d stayed up all night writing to Scorpius to keep him company, seeing as he hadn’t felt comfortable enough to talk to his dad. Even though they ended up discussing things that were completely unrelated to keep his mind off it, Scorpius had found it helpful, and Albus had been there to listen. Scorpius sighed, as if recalling the same memory.

Albus furrowed his brow, suddenly concerned. ‘We could have made this visit another week. Didn’t you want to, you know, be with your dad?’ He paused, then winced. ‘Sorry, I don’t want to assume how you’re feeling, but…’ he trailed off.

To his relief, he felt Scorpius smile above him. ‘I really didn’t want to leave Dad alone tomorrow, but he’s going to go visit my grandparents. Mum’s parents, that is. I’m going to visit them later in the holidays, so he said I should come here and enjoy myself. He knew what I needed.’

He tilted his head suddenly, noticing the time on the alarm clock. ‘Shoot! Albus, it’s nearly midnight. You better head downstairs.’

Both were quiet for a moment, neither of them making any effort to move. As if on cue, they both started giggling at their inactivity.

‘Okay, okay, I’m moving,’ Albus said, pushing Scorpius gently off him. He ignored the pang of disappointment shooting through him as Scorpius moved away and stretched his arms out clumsily. He climbed off the bed and stretched himself, watching his friend carefully.

‘Scorpius, are you going to be okay?’

Scorpius looked confused. ‘What, now? Or in general? Because ‘okay’ is a pretty vague-’

‘No, you muppet,’ Albus interrupted, smiling. ‘I mean are you going to be alright tonight? I could, um,’ he shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. ‘I could stay up here tonight, if you wanted. I mean, I don’t have to. But just in case you wanted the company.’ _We’ve literally shared a room for four years_. Albus thought, cross with himself. _Why am I suddenly acting so awkward?_

Scorpius looked touched. ‘Thank you, Albus,’ he said warmly, ‘but I think I’ll be okay, though. it’s probably about time I tried to get a good night’s sleep around this time of year. Y’know, without you there. In the nicest way possible,’ he added hastily, his cheeks visibly reddening.

Albus smiled, looking at his feet. ‘No problem. Just thought I’d check. I’ll, uh,’ he paused, gesturing at the door. ‘See you in the morning—7:30 again?’

Scorpius jumped back into his bed. ‘Bright and early!’ he said cheerily, patting down the duvet around him.

‘Night, nerd.’

‘Sleep tight.’

As Albus descended the stairs, he realised that if he hadn’t known his friend so well, he wouldn’t have noticed how Scorpius’s cheeriness was slightly forced.

* * *

A creak woke Albus from his sleep.

He blinked open an eye with great difficulty, and squinted at the time. _2:56am_. Probably someone getting up in the night and attempting to tiptoe around. He shut his eye again, knowing he’d drift back off to sleep easily.

Another ominous creak sounded, slightly louder this time. _Merlin_. He pulled the duvet up around his head to block out the sound. His family were loud enough at the best of times, but this was a new low. Then he heard another loud creak, and realised with a jolt that it was coming from inside his room.

Before he could steel himself to open his eyes to inspect the intruder, he felt someone prodding him gingerly on the shoulder.

Confused, and slightly disgruntled, he rolled over slowly, and found himself face to face with a scrawny-looking figure.

‘Scorpius?’ he croaked, his voice thick with sleep.

‘Sorry,’ Scorpius whispered, crouching closer to the bed so he didn’t have to raise his voice. He sounded wide awake. ‘Can I take you up on your offer from earlier?’

Albus thought for a moment, blinking sleepily as the cogs turned in his sleep-deprived brain. ‘Oh! Yeah, sure. Hang on.’ He shifted closer to the wall and moved his pillow over as Scorpius gingerly climbed in next to him.

‘You want me to move over a bit more? Sorry that it’s only a single.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Scorpius whispered, pulling the duvet over him. ‘There’s room. Like I said earlier, anything is comfier than my bed at home.’

Albus reached down to the bottom of his bed, gingerly so he didn’t jolt Scorpius, and hauled over a crumpled t-shirt that he’d been meaning to put in the wash-basket. ‘Plan of getting a good night’s sleep didn’t work so well then?’ Albus mumbled sympathetically, bunching the shirt up to turn into a pillow and resting his head on it.

He felt Scorpius shake his head next to him. ‘I always sleep better when you’re here anyway,’ he mumbled, sounding as tired as Albus felt.

Albus rolled over to face Scorpius properly. ‘Ditto that,’ he said quietly.

Scorpius turned to face him as well, and closed his eyes. Albus instinctively wrapped an arm under his friend’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Scorpius curled into him, exhaling happily.

‘’Night, nerd.’

Scorpius was already asleep.


	3. you don’t know what he needs. you only know he needs it.

_‘Gooooood morning listeners! This is your wake-up call from your favourite host, Lee Jordan. I know, I know, who better to give you that early-morning kickstart than the dulcet tones of myself and my gorgeous co-host for this morning, the one and only Angelina Weasley. It’s really a shame that this station doesn’t do livestreams this early in the morning, because this talented lady is looking_ particularly _radiant—_ ouch! _Okay, listeners, I’ll hand you over to Angie before she impales me with her wand. We’ll be starting the day off by talking about her highly-anticipated return to the world of quidditch.’_

‘ _Thanks a bunch, Jordan. You really haven’t changed a bit. George sends his best to you and the family.’_

_‘Aww, thanks Weasley. I’ll have to pop in at some point to say hi to the kids. Okay listeners, before we get going, here’s Cresswell with the weather.’_

Albus retracted his numb arm from underneath Scorpius’s head with great difficulty, and slammed his hand on the switch to turn the radio off. Sitting up slowly, he grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, which was sore from sleeping without a pillow. He made a mental note to sneak another pillow from the airing cupboard later.

Scorpius stirred next to him, stretching his arms out. ‘Morning,’ he yawned, breaking immediately into a grin.

Albus groaned. ‘God, I know I’ve put up with this for years, but is it even possible for you to wake up on the wrong side of the bed?’

Scorpius sat up, scratching his neck and yawning again. ‘Not this week, that’s for sure!’ he said cheerfully. ‘It’s Ministry day!’

Albus huffed in amusement. ‘Give me five minutes to wake up,’ he said, leaning back to ease the stiffness in his neck while Scorpius bounced out of bed with a slight stumble. ‘Go get ready, you ridiculously eager man-child.’

Scorpius practically bounded out of the room. _He has far too much energy for someone who only got about four hours sleep,_ Albus thought, amused.

Reluctantly, he crawled out from underneath the duvet, picking up the t-shirt he’d used as a pillow and tossing it back to the bottom of the bed. He didn’t usually have this problem in the Slytherin dorms—if either one of them crawled into the other’s bed in the middle of the night, they could just grab their own pillow and scooch over to make room in the double bed. It was a fairly regular occurrence—at least, it had been since third year.

Scorpius had been prone to having nightmares after Astoria’s death, which Albus was unaware of until he’d woken up one night to hear a muffled snuffling from the bed next to him.

Tiredness forgotten, he’d crept out of bed and pulled open the drapes, grabbing his wand and muttering ‘ _lumos’_ , only to find Scorpius sitting upright, hugging his knees and sobbing quietly to himself. But when he had noticed Albus looking on in concern, he’d blinked up at him sleepily and smiled despite himself.

_‘What are you doing up, Albus?’_

_‘Hazard a wild guess. Are you okay?’_

_‘Yeah. No. Been better.’_

At this, Albus had closed the drapes behind him and perched himself on the end of Scorpius’s bed. This was a very un-Scorpius thing to happen, and he was genuinely concerned. He’d sat there in silence while Scorpius wiped away his tears, uncertain of whether to offer words of comfort. Or how, for that matter.

_‘Sorry I woke you up,’_ Scorpius had said at last, his voice still sounding slightly raw from crying quietly.

_‘Scorp, you don’t need to apologise. I wanted to check you were okay.’_

_‘I’m okay now. It was just a dream. About Mum. Again. It happens fairly regularly.’_

_‘Do you want to talk about it?’_

_‘Not really. But thank you. I’ll be okay.’_

Scorpius had provided a more reassuring smile that time, which Albus returned. They’d sat there for a few more moments before Albus got up to leave.

_‘Wait, Albus?’_

_‘Yeah?’_

_‘Could you…’_ Scorpius had trailed off, looking self-consciously down at his hands.

_‘Do—do you want me to stay?’_

Scorpius had made as if to answer, then just nodded firmly, and seemed almost relieved when Albus had sat back down on the bed. They’d stayed like that for a moment, before Albus got up again, and skirted round the side of the bed to climb gingerly in next to him. It had made more sense than perching on the end of the bed all night.

Scorpius had shifted over to make room for Albus’s head on the pillow and fallen asleep almost instantly, obviously shattered. Albus lay there for a few moments, contemplating creeping back to his bed to get his pillow, but had eventually settled for resting his head on the very end of Scorpius’s pillow. He’d been hit with a scent that vaguely reminded him of whenever Scorpius leapt unceremoniously onto his bed to wake him in the mornings—which happened more frequently than Albus cared for: slightly minty, slightly like old books, and generally like Scorpius. It was almost comforting.

Facing Scorpius, he had watched his friend’s peaceful, sleeping face, and was overcome with a wave of protectiveness. Scorpius hadn’t deserved to lose his mother. Though they hadn’t discussed it properly back then, Albus could see it had taken a toll on him. Little things, here and there: staring into the distance while writing up homework in the evenings, zoning out of conversations, going up to bed early at mealtimes, claiming a loss of appetite. Albus had attended the funeral, staying up all night with Scorpius afterwards to keep him company. He’d brought him up leftovers once his friend had gone to bed, helped him finish off homework, and held him on the rare occasions when he broke down completely and sobbed wordlessly into Albus’s jumpers. Albus had still felt powerless to really help his friend, but looking at his sleeping friend lying next to him in that moment, he had made a silent promise to always be there when he needed him.

Scorpius had returned the favour. Thanks to the events of fourth year, Scorpius wasn’t the only one who was prone to nightmares. They made a fine pair.

On more than one occasion, Albus had jerked awake in the Slytherin dorms in a cold sweat, a distant hiss of ‘ _crucio’_ and an echo of screaming following him out of his subconscious. Sometimes he woke up with his cheeks already tear-streaked, his pillow damp. Shivering, he’d pull the duvet up closer around him, and peek out through the drapes, squinting in the darkness to make out the curled-up form of Scorpius in the bed a few feet away. Just to check it was still a dream. To make sure Scorpius was okay.

There’d be the occasional particularly horrific nightmare that Albus couldn’t quite convince himself wasn’t real, or at least that wasn’t currently happening. Wracked with guilt, believing that Scorpius enduring Delphi’s torture was all his fault, Albus had dreams that vividly reflected his memories, and perfectly replicated the powerlessness he’d felt watching his best friend in agony. He’d wake up feeling no less guilty, having known that Delphi was only torturing him as a means of getting to Albus—so much so that he didn’t dare to bother Scorpius when he woke up in the night. Albus had concluded it was his burden to bear, and settled for telling Scorpius the next day. _He’s the one who was tortured, not me._

However, after one such night of fitful sleep, permeated with flashes of all the horrors the Delphi in his memory could conjure, he’d found himself pushing aside the drapes and stumbling over to clamber next to Scorpius. Albus had been so tired he couldn’t even attempt not to wake up his friend, who’d stirred and shifted over accordingly.

‘ _Albus_?’

_‘Go back to sleep.’_

_‘Did you have the nightmare again?’_

Taking Albus’s silence as an answer, Scorpius had turned over to face Albus, and reached out an arm in the darkness to pull Albus closer to him. In his sleepy, fretful state, Albus had been more than happy to oblige; he’d curled into Scorpius, tucking his head under his chin.

_‘I’m okay now, Albus.’_

_‘I know,’_ Albus had muttered into Scorpius’s shirt, his eyes already closed. _‘Doesn’t make it any less real.’_

_‘It’s not your fault, you know. Delphi was a monster.’_

Albus had squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. _‘That doesn’t make it any less real,’_ he had repeated, his eyes stinging.

Instead of replying, Scorpius had held him even closer, stroking Albus’s back soothingly as he began to weep gently.

_‘It’s okay,’_ he’d whispered eventually. _‘I’m okay. I’m here.’_

That had been enough to calm Albus down sufficiently enough to fall asleep. The next morning, he’d woken up across from Scorpius, who still had an arm flung protectively over Albus’s shoulder. As if sensing Albus was awake, Scorpius had blinked his eyes open, and looked almost surprised to see Albus next to him.

_‘I thought I’d dreamt last night for a moment. You okay?’_

_‘Yeah, I’m fine now. Thanks for letting me stay.’_

That had made Scorpius raise his eyebrows. _‘I wake you up on a fairly regular basis to stay the night with you, and you’re thanking_ me _for letting you stay once?’_

Albus had looked uncomfortable, but Scorpius had laughed good-naturedly, rubbing his eyes sleepily. _‘I know you’re not used to being forward enough to seek comfort, but I think we’ve gone beyond the point of needing to thank each other for providing it.’_

Sleepily registering Scorpius’s words, Albus had chuckled. _‘Okay, I know. I’m just still getting used to this… new version of us, as you put it.’_

_‘What, the version of us where we hug more frequently, and I talk about my feelings more?’_ Scorpius had sat up, shaking his head and smiling. _‘This works both ways, Albus. And that means you’re allowed to wake me up in the night if you need to.’_

Albus didn’t have the nightmare again, but he still occasionally took Scorpius up on the offer. More often than not, though, Scorpius was still the one who suffered from disturbed sleep. It was only in the last few months that Albus had become more perceptive in noticing when Scorpius was having an off day, or was looking particularly sleep-deprived. So even when Scorpius didn’t actively seek out comfort, Albus would tentatively climb into the other side of the bed and stay with him; sometimes Scorpius’s relief was so evident that it hurt Albus to think of all the times Scorpius must have suffered in silence over the last few years.

Feeling himself tear up, Albus shook himself in an attempt to return to the present. He had no idea how Scorpius managed to stay so cheerful all the time when even thinking about his friend’s sorrow almost broke him. For one thing, they hadn’t talked about his feelings properly until the last year, and the knowledge that Scorpius hadn’t discussed it with his father either still made Albus’s gut twist. Standing up, he wiped away a frustrated tear, and pulled back the duvet to make the bed. He dressed hastily in the clothes he’d set out the night before, and was just checking his hair in the mirror when Scorpius bounded in, fully dressed and smelling almost obnoxiously like toothpaste.

‘I had a bit of a mishap with the toothpaste tube,’ Scorpius confessed, ‘but rest assured, the bathroom is sparkly clean again. As for me, well, I’ll just have to accept my new spearmint _eau de toilette—_ ’

He was broken off as Albus engulfed him in a hug.

‘Okay, unexpected, but appreciated,’ Scorpius wheezed into Albus’s shoulder. ‘Any particular reason?’

Albus sniffed quietly. _Because life makes you suffer, and you still manage to radiate positivity? Because you’re the strongest, bravest person I know?_

‘Because you are the only person I know who could manage to get attacked by a tube of toothpaste.’ He sniffed again, then wrinkled his nose. ‘Merlin, you stink of spearmint.’ Albus took a step backwards and ran a hand through the hair by Scorpius’s ear, pulling it away and feigning disgust. ‘How in Merlin’s name did you get toothpaste _behind your ear?_ ’ he said incredulously.

Scorpius looked smug. ‘Because, to add to my extensive list of titles, I am Scorpius Malfoy, _certified Achiever of the Impossible_. And because I sneezed while squeezing the tube.’ He shrugged and grabbed Albus’s hand, leading him out of the room. ‘Come on, let’s get food. I’m famished.’

‘You mean you haven’t already tucked into the sweets from yesterday as a pre-breakfast snack?’

‘Duh, of course I have. Who do you take me for? Malfoy the Unprepared?’

‘You know, giving yourself titles kind of lost its effect after you announced you were “Scorpius the Dreadless.” You only really lived up to it for about twenty minutes.’

‘Hey, I’m feeling pretty dreadless now. Mostly because of the sugar from the sweets, but we’ll gloss over that.’

‘Okay, Scorpius the Dreadless, no caffeine for you this morning.’

* * *

‘Albus? Where are you?’

‘Over here, Scorp. I can see you,’ Albus called across the heads of the people around him. ‘Don’t move—just wait there until some people get off.’

The clanking of the tube on the tracks drowned out Scorpius’s reply.

‘This is exactly why,’ Harry said self-righteously, grabbing onto a handrail, ‘I think it’s good for us to use muggle transport occasionally. We get so wrapped up in our own hoity-toity wizarding methods that we forget about the suffering of the average muggle worker every morning at rush hour.’

Albus wrinkled his nose in disgust, leaning against a glass panel in the carriage, and craning his neck to check Scorpius was okay. ‘This trip is a testament to your weird sense of character building,’ he said to Harry. ‘The tube is _horrible.’_

Harry raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were interested in how the muggle world functioned?’

‘Doesn’t always mean I want to experience it first-hand. This just makes me want to floo the entire London workforce into work every day.’

At the mention of the floo network, Albus spotted a woman in smart business-wear standing across from them raise her gaze briefly from a muggle newspaper. Harry gave her a nod and smiled awkwardly, but she’d already turned back to her paper.

‘Millie Cuthwaite,’ Harry muttered to Albus. ‘Head of the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. She’s relatively new on the job—Hermione sat in on her interview at the beginning of summer and said she was pretty remarkable. Used to be an author for muggles, apparently—under a pseudonym, of course. Having a brain for fiction is rather useful in that line of work, as you can imagine.’

‘ _Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee_?’ Albus hissed incredulously.

Harry was amused by Albus’s incredulity. ‘Exactly what it implies.’

‘Does the wizarding world think muggles are stupid enough to believe anything you tell them?’

Harry made to reply, but the tube began screeching deafeningly loudly on the tracks, and they were forced to stand in a brief silence with the rest of the people in the carriage.

‘Far from it,’ Harry replied eventually. ‘Muggles are far smarter than us, and won’t settle for any old excuse for weird occurrences. Some are, of course, easier to deceive than others. Give people an excuse about electromagnetic pulses or freak weather conditions to explain accidental underage magic, and they’ll lap it up for lack of better explanation. You’ve just got to be careful that anything high-profile doesn’t get into the hands of conspiracy theorists. Buildings being destroyed in duels, outbreaks of magical diseases in muggle hospitals, escaped magical creatures… they all take meticulous covering up. There are people convinced that our world exists, and they’ll look for any shred of proof to back up their accusations.’

The tube slowed to a stop, and more people stepped into the carriage. Albus frowned. This was fascinating, but mildly concerning. He lowered his voice as everyone around them bundled closer together. ‘Surely that means we should be more careful about what we say in public places? Like _here_ , for instance?’

Harry laughed. ‘Relax. People on the tube usually have their headphones in or have their head stuck in a book. The tube is pretty unpleasant at this time of day, so everyone’s focusing on trying to block it out, not listen in to conversations. Also, the Bakerloo line is so bloody loud you can only have conversations at intervals.’

As if to prove his point, the tube tracks struck up an ear-piercing screech again, and Albus took the opportunity to scan over the crowd of people to locate Scorpius again. Despite his discomfort at the increasingly cramped conditions, he relaxed as he spotted the familiar mop of white blonde hair. The racket of the tube died down, and Albus heard a distinctive guffaw of laughter—a sign that Scorpius had struck up friendly conversation with an unwitting commuter. One or two commuters turned in the direction of Scorpius’s laugh, but nobody else in the carriage reacted. _Blimey_ , Albus thought. _It really is another world down here._

Sensing Albus’s discomfort, Harry gave him a reassuring nudge. ‘Only one more stop. Everyone heading to the Ministry will get off at the same time, so careful of anyone pushing or shoving.’

Albus sniffed. ‘I get why we’re here, as we have to get in through the visitors’ entrance, but you’d think more people would just floo into the building. This journey just seems unnecessary, unless it was literally “take a muggle to work” day.’

Harry shrugged, darting his head to the right to peer out of the window as the tube came to a stop. ‘Like you said earlier, it’s character building. There are plenty of people here who were muggle-born, so using public transport is pretty normal to them. And a lot of people still use the floo network, don’t get me wrong. Some people even hang around and grab food in the area beforehand, so travel in first.’ He paused, amusement crossing over his face. ‘Someone with a particularly strong sense of smell might notice that sometimes entire departments arrive smelling of McDonalds.’

The idea of people flooing into the Ministry of Magic from McDonalds made Albus splutter with laughter, leaving him diving after his father out of the door, grabbing Scorpius by the arm on the way. He noticed Millie Cuthwaite bustle past them and hurry down the platform, vanishing into the surge of people that were now heading towards the escalators. _So all these people are going to the Ministry too,_ Albus thought in awe.

Harry paused to check Albus and Scorpius were still with him. ‘This way, guys,’ he said over his shoulder, striding down the platform after the crowd.

Scorpius leaned over to talk into Albus’s ear as they trotted just behind Harry, gripping his friend’s arm. ‘That… was horrifying.’

‘ _I know,’_ Albus said disbelievingly.

‘I always pictured the tube being a bit less… like a sardine tin?’

‘And less soul-destroying.’

‘The man I was talking to—a rather pleasant fellow named Richard—was on his way to a _twelve-hour work day_. He’s a social media executive, whatever that is, and has been commuting to London on the tube for the past _twenty-five years.’_

Albus winced. _‘_ Every day for twenty-five years?’ He wasn’t even surprised at the information Scorpius had managed to glean from a stranger in the space of about ten minutes. Scorpius had a rather endearing habit of befriending strangers, completely out of friendliness, and in his own unique, slightly awkward way.

Scorpius shook his head solemnly as they stepped onto the escalator behind Harry, who turned around for about the fifth time to do a mini headcount. ‘He said he loves his job, so he doesn’t mind. Makes me think that the magic community complain about a little too much about not a lot.’

Albus shuddered. ‘Remind me every now and then how fortunate we are to be able to literally teleport almost anywhere. Speaking of muggles, though, Dad was telling me about this department in the Ministry that literally makes up excuses for magical mishaps in muggle society.’

Scorpius looked amazed. ‘Intriguing.’

Albus nodded furiously. ‘I figured something like it had to exist, but there’s _so_ much more to the Ministry’s muggle relations than I realised.’

Smiling, Scorpius looped his arm around Albus’s, linking their arms. ‘I sense Muggle Studies nerd Albus is making an appearance.’

As Albus nattered excitedly to Scorpius about how this part of the Ministry could work, and Scorpius interjected with increasingly extreme and improbable examples of cover-ups, they followed Harry out of the tube station and into daylight. Harry glanced over his shoulder to check on them again, and if Albus hadn’t been so engrossed in his conversation, he might’ve noticed the proud smile creeping onto his father’s face as he returned his attention to their route.

A few minutes later, they turned off from the main road to Whitehill Place, which was comparatively much quieter. Albus felt a weird sense of déjà vu, which morphed into a memory of the year before, when he, Delphi, and Scorpius had snuck down this road and hidden in an alley to down some Polyjuice and break into the Ministry. He shuddered—he could almost taste the Polyjuice in his mouth. Scorpius didn’t seem to be affected by this memory, and looked even more excited than before.

‘Look, there’s the telephone box!’ Scorpius crowed happily, his grip on Albus’s arm tightening.

Harry turned around and looked surprised for a moment as Scorpius’s exclamation sunk in. Then he gave a small laugh as they drew up to the phone box. ‘I forget that you guys have been here before.’

‘At least we’re not breaking in this time,’ Scorpius offered. Albus tutted, keen to completely repress the memory. He assessed Harry’s facial expression, but his father seemed more intent on keying in the code on the dial-pad. He turned back to the boys with a bemused and slightly uncomfortable expression, and three small silver badges in his hand.

‘Oh, yes. I forgot you, um. Broke in.’ He waved them into the box.

Albus squeezed in, tugging Scorpius behind him, and Harry handed them each a badge. Albus’s read _Albus Potter: visiting Harry Potter,_ and peering over, he saw Scorpius’s read something similar. Albus distinctly recalled squishing in here with Scorpius posing as Harry, receiving similar badges, and got another uncomfortable feeling of familiarity as the telephone box began to descend into the ground. Based on his friend’s slightly furrowed brow, Albus suspected Scorpius felt the same.

‘It’s much easier fitting into the lift now than it was trying to squeeze in three fully-grown adults,’ Scorpius piped up, grimacing slightly even as he cheerfully tried to break the awkwardness in the air.

Albus wanted to sink even further underground than they already were.

Harry looked confused. ‘Three of you?’

‘Yeah. Me, Albus, and... um. You-know-who.’

It was darker in the lift than above ground, but Albus saw his father flinch.

‘We were all polyjuiced into you, though,’ Scorpius continued, oblivious. ‘Well, not _all_ into you, Harry. Well, I was you. It was quite fun, really. I rather enjoyed being tall.’

Albus was on the verge of throwing Scorpius out of the lift, but Harry laughed. ‘You must’ve felt like a giant then, Albus.’

The lift clicked to a halt, and before Albus could open his mouth to defend himself as Scorpius wheezed with laughter, Harry composed himself and ushered them out, ordering them to stay close, as they were suddenly caught in a surge of people swarming past them.

Albus and Scorpius gazed around them in awe. Albus for one decided he could never get tired of how spectacular the atrium was, despite the negative associations with his first time in the Ministry. Back then, however, he hadn’t had time to appreciate the view.

‘I never grow tired of it all,’ Harry said, echoing Albus’s thoughts, ushering them around the statue and towards another lift. ‘Even after a decade or so, it’s still remarkable. You should’ve seen me back when I first came here—I was about your age, but was still encountering new and wonderful things in the wizarding world.’

‘Did you visit someone when you first came here?’ Scorpius asked. Intrigued, Albus turned to study Harry as they entered the lift.

Harry snorted. ‘You could say that. I was put on trial in front of the Wizengamot for performing a patronus charm in front of a muggle.’

Scorpius’s mouth fell open.

Albus blinked in shock.

‘You _what_?’

‘Fortunately found not-guilty, thanks to Dumbledore. Ranks pretty highly on the list of most terrifying days of my life, though. Dolores Umbridge took no prisoners,’ he said, smirking.

While Albus shot Scorpius a look of wild confusion, Harry stepped out of the lift before the overhead voice had finished announcing that they had arrived on ‘Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement.’ He beckoned for them to follow him, and strode purposefully down the corridor, Albus and Scorpius trotting after him.

As they walked, Albus noticed a visible change in his father’s stance. Just from the way he walked, Harry seemed to be holding himself higher, his shoulders pushed back, and his posture vastly more confident than Albus had ever seen him. This was, Albus noted, the first time he had seen his father somewhere that wasn’t at home or with his family. And granted, he was probably significantly more relaxed at home, even if he still occasionally seemed on edge when it was just him and Albus, but this was something different altogether.

As the three of them turned into a room filled with witches and wizards sitting at desks, ducking and sidestepping slightly to avoid the paper aeroplanes whizzing around between them, people stopped what they were doing briefly as they walked past. Some nodded, some uttered a ‘Morning,’ and absolutely everyone smiled. Albus saw Harry return these smiles, and wave at a couple of people on the far side of the room, and came to the rather startling realisation that here, his father was _respected_. Here at the Ministry, he wasn’t just the man who was in charge of an entire law enforcement department; these people _liked_ him, and Albus knew it wasn’t just because he was good at his job.

_Dad is a liked, respected, professional man. Huh._ Albus didn’t know why this surprised him so much. _Yet another thing I didn’t know about him. Or did I just never think to ask?_ Perhaps he’d always assumed Harry’s approach to work was the same as his approach to parenting: strict, slightly bumbling, and oblivious to important things.

These were definitely unexpected revelations. _I’ve let him into my life more,_ Albus thought definitively, _so he’s returning the favour. Let’s see how this goes._

* * *

‘Albus, you know those electronic things that muggles wear on their wrists that count how many steps they’ve walked in a day?’

‘Wait, you mean Fitbits? Like Dad’s? How on earth do you know what a Fitbit is?’

‘I wasn’t born last century. I know what a Bitfit is.’

‘Fitbit.’

‘Gesundheit. Anyway, I was just thinking that if we had one of those, it’d be interesting to see how many steps we’ve walked around the Ministry today. Because I am KNACKERED.’ As if to emphasise his point, Scorpius flopped dramatically back onto a bench, resting his back against the shiny dark wood that lined the wall of the Ministry atrium.

Albus sat down on the bench next to his friend, pointedly leaning into him to get him to shift over. ‘There’s probably a spell for it. A wizard equivalent to the muggle tech. You’ll probably learn it during quidditch training.’

‘If you’re wondering, the spell is Fitbitius, and we’ve walked thirty thousand steps around the Ministry today,’ Harry said, appearing next to them.

Scorpius sat upright. ‘Wow, really?’

Albus rolled his eyes. ‘ _No._ I _literally_ just said that Dad wore one.’

Harry laughed. He tapped the device on his wrist. ‘Since Oliver discovered they existed, he’s forced the entire Weasley family to wear these things, and he methodically records everyone’s scores and ensures we’re staying active. He thinks they’re God’s gift to mankind. Alongside himself, of course.’

Albus laughed to himself while Scorpius visibly cursed himself for his naivety. After their uncle Percy had separated from his wife, it had been a few years before his old friend Oliver Wood had found his way back into his life. Now they were married, Oliver had done his mother-in-law proud in his active nature, and had integrated his fitness regime and competitive mentality into every aspect of their lives. The rest of the family benefited from it too—or suffered from it, depending on how you looked at it. Albus veered more towards the latter, as did his father, from his slightly traumatised tone whenever he recounted certain aspects of his quidditch training.

‘He worries about Percy the most, because he’s the one sitting around at a desk all day,’ Harry continued. ‘But Perce is the only one who takes it seriously. The rest of the family have hexed theirs to sync up with Molly’s, because she doesn’t even sit still when she’s sleeping. Gin just gave hers straight to me. I don’t mind the muggle technology, and it means I’m less inclined to sit at my desk all day.’ As if on cue, Harry checked his wrist. ‘Okay, was there anything else you guys wanted to see? Or shall we head back?’

Albus and Scorpius exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously. ‘We’re good to go,’ Albus said. Scorpius gave a confirmatory thumbs-up.

They had far from exhausted what the Ministry had to offer, but they’d done a whistle-stop tour of the Law-Enforcement Department, and paid visits to areas of the Ministry that Albus had only read about or seen pictures of, so it had been a pretty jammed afternoon.

The tour of the Law Enforcement Department had been pretty enlightening; Albus had been particularly impressed by the Auror Offices, if not terrified by the job description. His new-earned respect for his dad’s job only increased as the day went on, particularly when he saw the size of some of the other departments. He initially felt bad for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office when he saw the size of the office space, but Harry had assured him it was a temporary location while their main offices were refurbished.

‘After the Wizarding War,’ Harry had pointed out, ‘Percy campaigned religiously to give the Office the reputation it has today, as they didn’t get nearly enough credit for the work they undertook. It was actually one of the first things he pushed for when he started working under Kingsley. The Office is now a very competitive department to get employed in—it requires a meticulous understanding of muggle objects, as judged by your grandad, Albus. Even though he’s retired, he still insists on helping out occasionally with hiring.’

Afterwards, Harry took them back upstairs to the now significantly quieter atrium for a proper tour. After wandering around, they sat and hastily ate a packed lunch at the Fountain of Magical Brethren—having missed seeing it last time, Albus was spellbound by the shining silver statues of centaurs, house elves, and goblins. ‘Not a witch or wizard statue in sight,’ Harry had proudly announced. Albus hadn’t quite understood what he meant, but was content to remain in awe of the magical creatures displayed in front of him. The statues were positioned in a figure eight, as if the creatures were dancing in the fountain of water, which itself shimmered with the galleons of coins that lay below—tokens of luck of thrown in by passing well-wishers, the proceeds of which, Scorpius pointed out, were donated to St Mungo’s. ‘These proceeds actually funded the children’s area outside Mum’s ward,’ he had said, appreciatively running a hand along the smooth marble of the fountain edge. ‘I spent the latter part of my childhood in the library they had there for us.’ As his friend turned away from the fountain, Albus had reached into his pocket and taken out a stray sickle coin, squeezed his eyes shut, and dropped it into the water. Harry watched on in silence.

The Wall of the Fallen just behind the fountain was equally as evocative, and Albus felt a slight twinge in his stomach at the sight of his late uncle’s name carved into the marble. Harry hovered a few paces behind them, obviously well-acquainted with the hundred or so names on the wall, which Albus appreciated—there was a lot to process. He knew a lot of people had died during the War, but sometimes forgot the number of people on that list that his father knew and loved. Scorpius was unnaturally quiet while reading the names; Albus had reached out and gently tugged at his jumper. ‘You okay?’ he had mouthed, squeezing Scorpius’s arm. Scorpius gave a nod and a small smile. ‘Yeah, fine,’ he had murmured, sidling up to Albus, who put his arm around his shoulders as they turned away from the wall of names. ‘Just hadn’t expected to see my great aunt on the list, that’s all.’

As far as Harry had been aware, there hadn’t been any official Wizangemot trials taking place later in the afternoon, so, after admiring the fountain and wall, the three of them journeyed two floors down to the dungeons. Harry had lingered in the doorway, claiming to be on the lookout for anyone just in case, and had mostly stood looking slightly uncomfortable with his surroundings while Albus and Scorpius explored the room. At one point, Scorpius had ended up in one of the highest tiers of the Wizangemot’s seating, and located an official-looking plum-coloured robes robe that someone had left behind. He had draped it ceremoniously over his shoulders, and haughtily declared that he, Scorpius Malfoy, hereby sentenced Albus to forty years of singing him to sleep every night as punishment for his unlawful hatred of Pygmy Puffs, while Albus tried—and failed—to get Scorpius to use his indoor voice in the notoriously echoey chambers.

They had made their way back upstairs, and collapsed back in the atrium. Now they were back where they started, it was beginning to fill up with people again as the working day drew to a close. Harry checked his wrist once more, then beckoned Albus and Scorpius over to one of the chimneys. ‘How do you feel about flooing back home?’

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically as Albus exhaled a sigh of relief. ‘Infinitely better than if we were taking the tube again.’

Harry laughed. ‘I thought as much. I suppose that’s enough character building for the day.’

Scorpius stepped into the chimney first. Before he threw the powder onto the floor, he leaned out and whispered to Albus: ‘Thank Merlin it’ll be a quick journey—I’m absolutely starving. Don’t be surprised if you arrive in the chimney and I’ve already dived into the remainder of my sweets.’

Albus chuckled to himself as Scorpius threw the powder down and announced the Potters’ address. He stepped into the space where Scorpius had just vanished, and then noticed his father looking at him with a peculiar expression on his face. He narrowed his eyes quizzically, slightly lowering his hand that was poised to throw the powder. ‘What?’

Harry shook himself. ‘Oh, nothing. Just—I hope you found today interesting.’ He gave Albus a genuine smile.

Albus shrugged, and awkwardly returned the smile. ‘It was pretty awesome, to be honest.’

Harry responded by smiling even wider. ‘Good. I’m glad. Do you… reckon you could see yourself working here in the future?’

Albus hesitated before replying. ‘Yeah, I think so,’ he said slowly. ‘I don’t know which office, though,’ he added, more hurriedly. ‘I mean, there’s still another… how many floors of departments?’

‘A fair few,’ Harry confirmed, grabbing a handful of powder himself out of a small drawstring pouch. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to choose a career path in this precise second,’ he added, equally hastily. ‘I’m just glad you enjoyed it.’

Albus nodded. ‘Yeah. It was a pretty enlightening day.’ He glanced back at his father, who nodded at him to go ahead, and threw down a handful of powder, and announced his address as Scorpius had.

Harry stepped into the chimney as his son disappeared. As he positioned himself with the powder, he murmured to himself:

‘ _Definitely_ an enlightening day.’

* * *

‘Scorpius, do you ever think about the future?’

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, then and turned to face Albus with an eyebrow raised condescendingly. ‘Wait, seriously? You’re hitting me with a DMC thought before it’s even 8:30?’

Albus returned the condescending look with a glare, and grabbed the TV remote off the bed and muted the show they were watching. They were back up in the attic after eating dinner, propped against a massive pile of cushions on the bed—expecting them to be knackered, Harry and Ginny had suggested they get an early night, so they had both crawled upstairs to get into PJs and watch reruns of shows until they passed out. Albus would ordinarily have been tired of being told to ‘get an early night’ like a child would, but if that meant winding down and chatting with Scorpius until they were tired, he had no complaints.

As Albus had been leaving his room to head up to join Scorpius in the attic, he had heard his parents talking in the living room. They were hardly talking in hushed tones, but Albus still got the feeling he was listening in to a conversation about him that they assumed he couldn’t hear.

‘—affectionate. It’s great, really. I think they both enjoyed looking around the Ministry as well. Albus even went as far as to describe is as enlightening.’

‘Oh, definitely. And I’d take that as a victory. It’s great he’s taking an interest in this sort of thing.’

‘You mean taking an interest in _anything_ I do?’

‘Precisely. And maybe even for his future, as well. Not that there’s _any_ pressure for him to make any big decisions yet—’

‘—Oh no, of course not.’ Harry paused.

Ginny was silent for a moment. ‘There’s a but coming, I can tell.’

‘Not a but, necessarily. I’m just think I was scared he’d see where I worked and, you know. Associate it with me, and then decide not to associate with it at all.’ He paused again, and Albus could picture his father shrugging. ‘Not that he needs career advice from me. He’s got all of that joy to come this year at school.’

Albus heard his mother laugh softly. ‘No doubt McGonagall will be dragging you in to talk to the students again. And who knows—maybe Albus will follow in your footsteps. He’s certainly intelligent enough to. But—’

At that point, Albus had stepped back from where he was leaning over the bannister to listen in, and crept along the hallway to the attic stairs. Overhearing his parents talking positively about him made a nice, albeit surprising, change from the remarks that used to float up to his room from the landing: ‘why couldn’t he just be more…’, or ‘why don’t you try…’, or the far more frequent ‘I don’t know what I’m doing wrong’.

All the talk of careers had got him thinking, though. And worrying.

‘I’m being serious,’ Albus protested. ‘Lower that eyebrow.’ He snorted as Scorpius comically obliged, and furrowed his brows into a frown. ‘I mean it,’ Albus said giving his friend an affectionate nudge. ‘Today did get me thinking about what I want to do in the future—which was probably all part of Dad’s master plan with this trip.’

‘I reckon I’d quite like to work at the Ministry,’ Scorpius said thoughtfully. ‘I like the sound of being in Magical Maintenance, I must admit.’ His eyes brightened. ‘Imagine controlling the weather in the offices—I could make it sunny every day!’

‘Nah, I think you’re a tad too optimistic for that job. It just wouldn’t be realistic. It’s got to be cloudy at least six days a week in order to resemble English weather,’ Albus teased. ‘Plus, would you really want to be tidying up after everyone all the time?’

Scorpius smirked, raising a finger in the air with a flourish. ‘To quote your dad, I’m sure it’d be excellent character building.’ Giggling to himself, he turned his attention fully away from the TV. ‘Okay, if _you_ had to work there, what would you do?’

Albus exhaled slowly. ‘I really have no idea. It was quite a lot to take in. I don’t think I could be an Auror, though. Sounds a bit intense.’ He shuddered involuntarily, half at the thought of having the job himself, and half at the idea of his dad hunting down dangerous criminals for a living. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he sat up a bit straighter. ‘What about the Muggle-worthy Excuses Committee? I can be very persuasive.’

Scorpius raised his eyebrows again, which set them both off laughing. As they settled down, Scorpius sighed. ‘Who knows where we’ll end up,’ he said, half to himself.

‘That’s what I’m worried about,’ Albus replied quietly. He hastily unmuted the TV and refocused his attention on the show, leaving Scorpius looking at him quizzically.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Albus letting the canned laughter of the TV hide the sudden awkwardness that he was feeling. He shouldn’t have brought it up. _Stop worrying about something you have no control over_. _It won’t matter for a few years anyway._

Albus felt a foot nudge him gently.

‘You okay?’

Albus felt himself reddening. ‘It’s just—it’s not—ugh.’ He knew exactly how petty he sounded. ‘This probably sounds utterly ridiculous. I’m being ridiculous,’ he babbled. ‘It’s fine. I mean—’

‘Albus,’ Scorpius broke him off, turning around on the bed to face him fully again. ‘Talk to me.’

Albus grimaced. ‘I’m just getting stupidly worried about the future. It’s fine, really.’

Scorpius hesitated. ‘Well, that’s justified,’ he said slowly. ‘I mean, I don’t actually, properly know what I want to with my life.’ He laughed nervously. ‘I’ve only got vague ideas. I’d be a bit concerned if you already had a ten-year plan.’

Albus gave a long, drawn-out sigh. ‘I don’t either. That’s the problem, though. I don’t know where I’ll be in three, five, even ten years.’ He dipped his head, deliberately avoiding eye-contact with Scorpius. ‘I don’t know where either of us will be.’

_‘Albus_.’

Scorpius put a hand on Albus’s shoulder. The gesture caught Albus completely off-guard, and sent a warm feeling down his spine—he was clearly still adjusting to Scorpius being more forward.

‘I just—the idea of not being at Hogwarts with you?’ Albus started in a low voice, looking down at his hands as he twisted them around anxiously in front of him. ‘It scares me. A lot. And it’s not just that—I mean, it’s sort of same thing, I guess, but we’re already going down different paths in school.’ _Oh, Merlin._ Albus felt himself panicking as continued to ramble on. ‘We’re doing different OWL subjects. And now you’re into quidditch. Which is great,’ he added hurriedly, ‘and I’m really glad you could find something you enjoy. I’m just stupidly, stupidly scared.’

Albus couldn’t see Scorpius’s face, but the hand on his shoulder tensed. Albus guessed he was struggling to come up with a response.

‘I think I get where you’re coming from. The idea of us living entirely separate lives isn’t an entirely pleasant one, I have to admit. But I’m excited about the future. About what it holds. Merlin, I’m sounding like a rom-com,’ Scorpius laughed—and Albus would have joined in if he hadn’t still been annoyed with himself.

_I’m messing everything up._

‘No, really. I’m sorry, Scorp. I know we’re going to have our own lives, and it’s going to be great. I’m just being stupid. Angsty and stupid. As usual,’ he added bitterly, rubbing his eyes. ‘Trust me to have an issue with the fact I can’t be part of every part of your life one-hundred percent of the time.’ He felt his face redden further, and instinctively shifted out of Scorpius’s grasp. He regretted doing so immediately; hadn’t realised how comforting it had felt, and could sense that Scorpius was probably crestfallen at his bitterness.

_Idiot,_ Albus cursed silently. _There was a reason we agreed to talk about important things more, but it wasn’t so I could launch into rambles about my insecurities. Scorpius doesn’t care about this—his life doesn’t revolve around me._

Albus resented the silence that followed; it dragged on for what seemed like hours, the air charged with the unsaid words he was silently willing himself to say. But he couldn’t bring himself to look at Scorpius to read his facial expression.

‘You know I feel the same, right?’

Scorpius spoke quietly, but Albus jumped all the same.

Albus turned to face Scorpius, his heart hammering—and in an incredibly cliché moment, he willed it to slow down, for fear it was audible. ‘You do?’

Scorpius smiled sadly, flinching slightly as the light from the TV suddenly flared brightly. ‘Permission to initiate a heart-to-heart?’

‘Permission granted,’ Albus replied quietly.

Scorpius took a deep breath. ‘Okay. We spend an inordinate amount of time together. In fact, the holidays aside, we are barely apart. And in those hours, days, weeks, etc. that we’re together, I feel like there’s nobody else who,’ Scorpius said, holding up his fingers to count, ‘a) I know so well, and b) knows me so well.’

Albus gave a barely audible sound in agreement, which Scorpius took as a sign to continue. ‘And you know something, Albus? After our first year at Hogwarts, I spent the holidays in utter dread that I would come back to Hogwarts, and a different Albus would greet me. One that had found new friends or new interests that would change how much we had in common. Which, if I’m being honest, never really has been that much. Unless we’re counting father-related problems, from which we were both struggling, as well as the fact that we were both _impossibly_ nerdy.’

Albus finally allowed himself to laugh, and Scorpius instantly seemed to warm in relief, a smile stretching involuntarily across his face. ‘And alongside everything else, we were quite content with each other’s company. And, well, it felt like a lot to lose. But then you came bumbling back into my life again, and normal order was restored. If you could call our misadventures normal,’ Scorpius said, rubbing his hands together, almost nervously.‘I don’t think anyone could ever use the word normal to describe us,’ Albus croaked, his throat suddenly dry.

Scorpius chuckled. ‘My point is—don’t worry, this is going somewhere, I swear—’

‘You sure about that?’ Albus joked feebly, feeling himself relaxing slightly.

Scorpius nudged Albus with his knee in protest, then left it there against Albus’s leg, as if to comfort him. ‘Really Albus, I try to be sincere. I know this has happened a lot recently—’

‘Get to the point, muppet,’ Albus said, giving Scorpius’s foot a small nudge. His skin prickled where their feet touched, and he instantly felt a surge of affection for his friend. Acting on it, he instinctively grasped Scorpius’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly, trying to pretend his own hand wasn’t shaking from the sudden emotional intensity of the conversation.

‘My long-winded point is that you’ll always be the same Albus to me, even if I can’t spend every day with you. And I think the same goes for whatever we do without each other.’ He squeezed Albus’s hand back, and they smiled warmly at each other for a few moments, before Albus nodded, feeling significantly more relaxed—but no less pathetic.

‘It’s okay if we do different things. It’s one of the inevitabilities of life,’ Scorpius added solemnly. ‘And as I said yesterday, you really don’t have to come watch all the quidditch practice sessions anymore.’

Albus gave a small smile. ‘And as _I_ said yesterday, I _want_ to. I may not be participating, but I’ll be there to support you.’

They turned their attention to the silent images flashing on the TV screen, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, and neither thinking of unmuting the dialogue. Albus tried desperately not to move his leg, so he didn’t break the comforting contact with Scorpius, and let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Who was he kidding? Of course he could talk to Scorpius about this.

Out of nowhere, Scorpius leaned his head to the side, not taking his eyes off the screen. ‘You’re ridiculously clingy, you know that?’ he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Albus scowled, and gave Scorpius the closest thing to a proper kick with his foot he could without moving either of them too much. ‘Says the guy who wiled away his summers worried if I’d still like him,’ he teased.

‘Hey, time out on the emotional convo now,’ Scorpius said in mock-firmness. ‘We’re getting too soppy for our own good. No mention of our sob-story pasts permitted past this point. Scorpius the Emotionally Stable has spoken.’

‘ _Scorpius the Emotionally Stable?_ We need to work on your use of alliteration—I’m certain we can do better than that.’

‘Okay. What do you suggest, _Albus the Angsty_?’

As they bickered good-naturedly for the next few minutes, the TV flickered on silently in the background. And as they talked, Albus fought to ignore his heart involuntarily fluttering every time he reminded himself that Scorpius still hadn’t let go of his hand.

* * *

Albus muted the TV.

‘Scorpius, you asleep?’

The quiet, steady breathing coming from his left shoulder answered his question.

To tell the truth, Albus hadn’t noticed Scorpius was sleeping until his shoulder had started to grow numb from his weight. Scorpius had been resting his head on Albus’s shoulder while they were finishing watching their TV show, their hands entwined, and Albus had never felt more content. Now he’d realised Scorpius was asleep, he was reluctant to move, but knew he couldn’t stay in this position all night.

Gently, without lifting Scorpius’s head, Albus replaced his shoulder with a pillow, and prised his hand from Scorpius’s grip. He lowered him into a more comfortable sleeping position on the bed, and carefully moved the duvet to cover Scorpius. Albus froze and held his breath as Scorpius stirred, but fortunately he seemed to be in too deep a sleep to register any movement.

Satisfied that Scorpius was comfortable, Albus made to creep back downstairs, but hesitated at the end of the bed. He was stopped by the memory of Scorpius waking up in the night to tiptoe into Albus’s room the night before. Albus knew that being apart from Scorpius had felt strange, but he didn’t know the full extent of it until Scorpius had joined him. _Was it because I was happy I could comfort Scorpius?_ Albus considered. He sighed. No, that wasn’t it. He almost knew he was kidding himself.

His mind made up, Albus gingerly lifted the duvet on the opposite side of the bed and climbed underneath it, still wary of accidentally waking Scorpius. He lay his head down carefully on the pillow, facing towards Scorpius on his left. Seeing Scorpius opposite him confirmed what he’d always known: Scorpius was comforting. He was familiar – a reassuring presence in the chaos of every other part of Albus’s life. And Albus didn’t need to be distressed or upset to appreciate this.

Instantly feeling better, Albus closed his eyes. He was content that some part of their routine had been recreated, but also knew this was somewhat new territory. His brain was too sleepy to look too much into it though, and lulled by the ticking of his alarm clock and Scorpius’s breathing, he drifted off to sleep.


	4. your weakness was the same as your father’s

Blinking his eyes open, Albus squinted at the light peeking out from behind the attic curtains that had roused him. He’d meant for him and Scorpius to sleep in this morning, especially after the last couple of early starts. Scanning the room, his gaze passed over the flower alarm clock, which he hadn’t bothered setting to wake them up: the display blinked 10.13am, and as if in response to his gaze, the petals faded into a pale blue.

Scorpius suddenly stretched out an arm, and Albus squeaked as it nearly whacked him around the head.

Scorpius turned over to face him with a sleepy, puzzled face. ‘Albus?’ he croaked, his voice thick with drowsiness. ‘What time is it?’

‘Just past 10,’ Albus replied, rubbing his eyes. Thank goodness they didn’t have any plans until the evening—he felt he could easily sleep for another century. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.’

Scorpius lifted his head to inspect the time himself, then thumped it back onto the pillow. ‘You didn’t wake me. I just sort of woke. Waked. Woke up.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Try me again in a few minutes. My brain’s surprisingly foggy—I actually had a full night’s sleep for once,’ he added, opening his eyes properly. He frowned. ‘Did you stay the whole night?’ 

Albus huffed. ‘What, did you think I was going to let you creep down the stairs in the dark again if you woke up? By the laws of the universe, there are only so many times Scorpius Malfoy can do that without tripping over thin air and falling down to his death.’

Scorpius’s face relaxed, and he giggled sleepily. ‘You didn’t have to,’ he said softly.

Albus turned his head to the left to face Scorpius. ‘’Course I did.’

They stayed like that for a few moments, smiling sleepily at each other. It took Albus a moment to work out why Scorpius was looking at him with such an oddly happy expression.

‘What?’

‘Nothing. Just happy you’re here.’ Scorpius buried his face in the duvet, hiding his grin.

Remembering his contemplation of the ‘new version’ of their friendship, it occurred to Albus that this affection was still a relatively recent development in their friendship. It seemed that Albus wasn’t the only one who was still grateful for it.

The more Albus considered their friendship, the more random memories floated into his mind. The times he’d squeezed Scorpius’s hand under the table in the Great Hall whenever the name ‘Voldemort’ was uttered in Scorpius’s vicinity. The nights where they’d cast _muffliatus_ spells in the common room, intending to study, ending up lying on their stomachs on the room’s plush green cushions and talking about everything and nothing until the early hours of the morning. All the times in Charms or Defence lessons when Albus had caught Scorpius watching him out of the corner of his eye, offering silent support for Albus when he attempted the trickier spells that he struggled to cast. Not to mention every time he’d been a source of comfort for Albus whenever someone sneered and called him a squib. Instead of merely reassuring him, Scorpius would march Albus to the astronomy tower after class; once there, Scorpius would sit them down and patiently go over and practice the spell with him until Albus could cast it.

It was true they’d always been close, seeing themselves as united against a common enemy: the rest of the universe, which seemed permanently out to get them. As things had got drastically worse and then gradually improved after the events of the start of fourth year, however, they’d grown only closer still. What they’d been through together had cemented the friendship they had, and had seemed to provide the foundations for their bond to grow even stronger, which Albus hadn’t thought possible. If the last few months were anything to go by, this ‘new version’ of their friendship was something he felt infinitely more grateful to have. And that didn’t just manifest in how much more affectionate they’d grown towards each other.

Albus sighed inwardly, feeling overwhelmed. _Merlin. I just don’t know what I’d do without him._ They continued maintaining eye contact, until Albus’s gaze flitted downwards instinctively to Scorpius’s mouth.

Then something seemed to click in Albus’s mind, and his breath caught in his chest. _Oh._

Disguising his sharp intake of breath with a yawn, Albus was the first to break eye contact—his heart hammering and his face warm, he rolled over and swung his legs over the size of the bed, putting his feet gingerly on the cold laminate floor. He swept a hand through his hair, ignoring the fact that his hands were slightly shaky, and winced as his fingers snagged several knots at once.

‘Can I borrow your comb?’ _Act natural, you imbecile._

‘You most certainly can,’ Scorpius said, jerking upright and hurling himself at the bedside table to reach the comb lying on top. The table was, in fact, right next to where Albus was sitting up, so Scorpius suddenly leaning over sent the weight distribution on the rather cheap mattress springs haywire.

‘ _Merlin!_ ’

Albus exclaimed out loud as he was nearly catapulted off the bed—and would have been had Scorpius not flung out an arm and grabbed his pyjama sleeve.

‘Blimey, Scorpius, you almost sent me flying!’

Scorpius winced beside him. ‘Sorry!’

His hand lingered on Albus’s arm for what Albus registered as a moment longer than usual. Ignoring his heart practically skipping a beat, and how he felt his skin prickle where Scorpius’s hand had brushed against his skin, Albus stood up abruptly.

‘Right. Um. I’ll just go, uh, clean my teeth. I’ll meet you downstairs in a few?’ he asked, temporarily avoiding eye contact with Scorpius, and praying he didn’t notice that his voice was suddenly detectably higher in pitch.

Scorpius blinked and raised his eyebrows. ‘Sure,’ he quipped. ‘I’ll grab a quick shower and meet you down there. Are your parents home today?’

Albus ran a hand through his hair again, realising in his panic that he’d forgotten about the comb. _Too late now._ He hoped Scorpius hadn’t noticed how flustered he was. ‘Let’s see—Dad’s at the office, Mum’s at work, James is probably illegally buying explosives, and Lily’s out with friends. So, in other words, a peaceful, relaxing breakfast awaits us.’

Smiling contentedly, Scorpius lay back on his pillow, folding his arms behind his head. ‘ _Perfection_.’ He paused, pouting. ‘Does that mean no bacon?’

Swivelling his head around, hoping his face wasn’t bright red, Albus put on an expression of mock haughtiness. ‘Apologies, your highness, bacon is not to be served on this fine morn.’ He pursed his lips. ‘One shall have to make do with toast and Yorkshire tea.’

Ever the dramatic, Scorpius flung a hand over his forehead. ‘I cannot abide such negligence. I shall simply have to waste away.’

In response, Albus grabbed a sock off his foot, and tossed it aggressively in Scorpius’s direction. ‘Your majesty, kindly put a sock in it.’

While Scorpius laughed and made exaggerated grossed-out noises, Albus took his chance to escape before anything else was thrown. He dived through the doorway, and carefully descended the shiny wooden stairs, going slowly to allow for the fact he was only wearing one sock, as well as the fact that he felt on the verge of hysteria. Flinging open his bedroom door, which was only partly open, he immediately moved to grab a pile of clothes. All the while, he was fully aware that his heart was still hammering, his face was almost definitely still crimson, and his brain was now repeating the same word over and over.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. **Shit.**_

_* * *_

Scorpius had made to grab the pillow next to his to throw in Albus’s direction as he darted from the room, but he hadn’t been quick enough. Now, still in the attic, still lying in bed, his eyes turned to the ceiling, smiling in amusement at the exchange. And because of one other reason:

_Albus stayed the night._

The last thing he could remember before waking up this morning was leaning his head on Albus’s shoulder while they were watching TV. Except Scorpius had barely been paying attention to the programme, and had focused more on how comforting it was to have his head on Albus’s shoulder. He was certain the only reason he’d slept so well was because Albus had stayed. Back at Hogwarts, being with Albus had been the only thing that stood between a nightmare-ridden night and sleeping soundly.

_He could so easily have just gone back to his room. Why did he stay?_

He’d never really questioned it before now—at school, him climbing into Albus’s bed was a routine they were accustomed to. Being apart for so much as a month now made him feel the absence of Albus even more keenly, and, if anything, stressed how much being around Albus helped him. Somehow, the idea that they weren’t in school made the concept of Albus staying with him even more comforting. He was familiar. Reassuring. And the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t want this week to end—didn’t want to leave the familiar comfort of Albus.

_Does Albus feel the same?_

Scorpius giggled to himself quietly at the absurdity—and the implications—of the question, one he’d been asking himself since day one. The giggle turned into a laugh. The laugh shifted into a sort of pained noise. Scorpius picked up the pillow and hurled it over his face, which in turn muffled the weird, exaggerated sob he was now emitting.

‘I’m screwed,’ he spoke into the pillow, an incredulous, slightly hysterical despair lacing his voice. ‘Utterly and completely screwed.’

* * *

While he waited for the kettle to boil and the toast to cool, Albus sat at the kitchen counter biting his nails anxiously.

He listened out for sounds of movement upstairs, occasionally having to consciously stop his foot tapping incessantly against the stool to focus. He’d made his mind up about the next step to take. There had always been something—a little voice whispering in his head, a peculiar yet solid gut instinct—that he’d never been able to put his finger on. Something that had been present for a few years, and had been taking shape over the last few months. Only now was he able to put a finger on exactly what he’d been feeling.

As he heard the shower door slam and the crank of the water dial, he leapt into action. Grabbing the landline phone, and fumbling through the family address book, he set out to do something that a year ago—even a month ago—he would never even have considered doing. All he knew was that this realisation had been a shock to his system, one that he could never go back on.

He identified the number to call, and stabbed at the phone buttons with an incredibly shaky hand. Clearing his throat several times, he listened to the dial tone ring again and again.

_Is this the worst idea in the world? Almost definitely. But what other choice do I have?_

When the receiver picked up, he was pulled back into reality, and struggled to formulate a coherent sentence in his head.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi, um. Dad?’

‘Albus?’ After an initial moment of confusion, his father’s concern was immediately evident. ‘Are you okay? Is everything alright? What’s happened?’

‘ _Woah_ , Dad, everything’s fine. Peachy, in fact. Completely cool. Fine.’

‘Everyone’s alright? James and Lil are okay?’

‘Dad, they’re _fine_ ,’ Albus urged, starting to feel embarrassed at causing his father such distress. ‘They’re both out at the moment.’

‘Oh, okay—you just startled me, Al. You know I only have this phone for emergencies. And besides, you’ve never called me at work before. Is it urgent?’

Albus cringed at how petty he must be sounding. ‘Can you talk now? Are you free?’

He heard the sound of frantic rustling paper, followed by several large thumps. ‘Of course, of course,’ Harry exclaimed. ‘I’m not doing anything right now, really. I’m just pretending to do paperwork.’ He laughed nervously, and, hearing several more crashing noises, Albus twigged that his father was probably as surprised as he was that this phone call was taking place.

‘Okay, all good. What’s up?’

Albus took a deep breath. It was now or never.

‘Dad, how did you know—wait. Um. You and Mum were friends before you were together, right _?’_

His question was met with silence on the other end of the phone. A silence that Albus could tell intuitively was from shock.

‘Sorry, say again. Were your mum and I _what_?’

Albus buried his face in his spare hand, and gripped the phone tighter. ‘Were you and Mum good friends before you were—you know. Together?’

Another short silence followed before Harry responded. ‘Okay, Al, wait there a moment. I’m just going to—’

The receiver went dead.

As the dial tone started ringing out, Albus held the phone away from his ear in confusion. _What on earth—_

And then Albus got the fright of his life when he saw his father was jogging down the hallway, brushing Floo powder off his arm. 

‘ _Merlin_ , Dad. Couldn’t you just—’

‘Sorry,’ Harry said apologetically, pausing in the kitchen doorway. ‘It was just so out of the blue, your phone call—I—well, this is clearly a better conversation to be had in person.’

Albus clutched the table to steady himself. He’d just about mentally steeled himself for a phone call, but now his father was here, he felt his adrenaline-fuelled courage quickly draining away. ‘Dad, it’s nothing—go back to work, it’s fine, it’s—’

‘It’s clearly not fine,’ Harry exclaimed dumbfoundedly, gesturing incredulously, ‘because you _called me at work._ Sorry, let me rephrase that. You _called me_ , full stop _._ ’

‘ _Okay._ I need advice. Badly. And it’s got to be quick, because Scorp—’ he broke off before he said more than he intended, and took a deep breath to calm himself. Harry looked at his son in confusion, as if he was putting jigsaw pieces together in his head.

‘Alright,’ Harry said slowly. He drew up a stool next to Albus at the counter, and perched awkwardly, crossing his arms. ‘You wanted to know if Ginny and I were friends before we were together—so when we fell in love, correct?’

Albus gave a tiny nod, focusing intently on the patterns in the marble of the counter. He ignored the silent fluttering of panic in his stomach at the last part of Harry’s question.

Harry inhaled sharply before continuing. ‘Right.’

Albus listened intently as Harry launched into a narrative of his fifth year at school, and how him and Ginny had met. Albus knew the vague details well enough that he had to force himself not to zone out.

They’d met on September 1st of first year, albeit briefly, and crossed paths properly in second year. She’d liked him from early on, so had always acted nervously around him until then, but fourth year had marked a turning point—they started to become really good friends, which she later told him was thanks to Hermione’s advice about her crush on him. They grew even closer in fifth year, and got together soon after that. It was the specifics of this, however, that Albus was after.

‘After that, we hung around as a group over summers and in the common room, and we spent a lot of the summer together at the end of our… fourth year, I think it was? Realising I had feelings for her took a while, as I convinced myself that we were just close friends. But something just clicked about half way through sixth year. I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was—it was nothing specific, but I just started feeling different around her. Good different, though. We grew a lot closer, and I liked the person I was when she was around; I acted more like myself, and I found myself being more honest around her than anyone else. After a while not being around her just felt… wrong. And then in one quidditch match, she caught the snitch for Gryffindor and won. And I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, but I was so caught up in the euphoria of her victory that I just sort of strode over and kissed her.’

He dipped his head to look at the counter, giving a small, fond smile—the kind he reserved for whenever he saw Ginny sitting at the table scribbling over an article; or when she was talking passionately about something she’d heard in the news, gesturing wildly; or when they were all sitting on the sofa watching TV, and Albus caught him glancing down at Ginny curled up in the crook of his shoulder, and occasionally leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. Albus was quiet for a moment while Harry shrugged, still smiling.

‘Did you ever… question your feelings?’

Harry shook his head. ‘I think I was unconsciously having an internal crisis leading up until that moment, but after that, everything suddenly slotted into place. I knew that was it—that was what was meant to happen.’

Albus nodded slowly. ‘Okay. Thanks,’ he said, frowning slightly. He turned around on the stool and made to stand up, but Harry shook himself out of his nostalgic stupor and held out a hand to stop him.

‘Wait, wait, was there a reason? Why you wanted to know, I mean,’ Harry stammered quickly. ‘Again, what you’ve given me here is all pretty out of the blue,’ he added, when Albus turned back looking slightly pained. ‘You’ve got to give me something.’

Closing his eyes, Albus brought a hand to his forehead and squeezed his brow between finger and thumb, feeling like his brain was going to explode.

‘I… I don’t know, exactly. Curiosity?’ He squinted at his father, who was looking at him with a weird excited expectancy, and forced himself to keep talking. _Talk to him about things. Don’t keep secrets._ Except he wasn’t sure if this was even something that was a secret. ‘I just wanted to, um. Confirm some feelings. Not sure. About anything. _Ugh._ ’

 _Okay, too much talking. Definitely too much._ Albus felt like banging his head against the counter, and was on the verge of doing so before Harry broke in.

‘Al, you don’t have to tell me everything,’ Harry said slowly, raising a hand hesitantly, probably to ensure his son didn’t start injuring himself. ‘But if you’re feeling something for… someone, then it’s usually best to act on it as soon as possible. Both for the sake of your sanity, and your happiness.’

Albus opened his eyes and stared at the counter. There was no backing out of this now. This conversation was happening. And with his _dad,_ of all people. He felt like he’d pushed through the initial awkwardness of the exchange, but he was still having difficulty articulating how he felt, particularly to someone he wasn’t used to confiding in, when he was still coming to terms with it himself.

‘Too late for that,’ Albus said weakly. ‘I feel like I’m going insane,’ he confessed. Harry made as if to talk, then seemed to think better of it, so Albus continued. ‘Is this what it feels like? The love thing? The confusion and numbness and happiness and electricity whizzing around your brain, all at the same time?’ he gabbled. ‘And how everything you’re used to just suddenly changes, and you don’t know how to be normal, but you don’t _want_ it to go back to normal, and you want to do something about it?’

It was only when he finished rambling that he realised just what he’d articulated.

 _Oh, Merlin._ _I said the L-word_.

Harry looked equally as dumbfounded as Albus felt, but shot Albus a surprisingly warm smile. ‘Not far off, yes.’

‘And the panic?’

‘If you’re panicking about it, the feeling is probably real.’

Albus snorted. ‘Great. _Wonderful._ ’

They were quiet for a moment while the information sank in on both ends.

Harry was the first to speak. ‘I feel like repeating some of Ron’s words of wisdom at this point.’

Confused, Albus frowned. ‘What would he say?’

‘You’re buggered, mate.’

Albus laughed loudly, and Harry joined in, looking relieved he’d got Albus to crack a smile, but still looking sympathetic.

Still laughing, Albus wiped a hysterical tear from his eye. ‘I really am,’ he croaked. ‘And I’m convinced that this means I’ll screw it up.’

‘You won’t screw it up,’ Harry said quietly, suddenly serious. He rested a comforting arm on Albus’s shoulder. ‘Even if you don’t know one hundred percent that your feelings will be reciprocated, it’s best to clear the air. Otherwise you won’t be acting yourself around them.’

Albus considered this advice. ‘As soon as possible?’

‘Preferably, based on your current situation.’ From the understanding in his father’s eyes, and from the way he spoke, Albus figured he’d guessed about whom he was talking. ‘So yes.’ A grin crept across Harry’s face. If Albus didn’t know better, he’d have thought his father looked thrilled.

‘Good luck.’

Albus inhaled sharply and shot his father a nervous, grim smile. He completed the gesture with a cheesy thumbs-up.

Still smiling, Harry dipped his head to check his watch. He visibly paled. ‘Okay, I really should get back to work.’

‘I thought you said you weren’t doing anything?’

Harry exhaled through his teeth. ‘Slight exaggeration. Like I said, I was mostly planning on avoiding things today. Doesn’t mean Hermione won’t pulverise me if I don’t meet my deadlines.’

They both laughed at that, before Harry extracted a small bag of Floo powder and tapped it nervously on the counter. ‘Are you going to be okay?’ he said quietly.

Albus nodded firmly. ‘Yeah. Thanks,’ he added sheepishly. ‘That actually helped a lot.’

Harry smirked. ‘Don’t sound too surprised.’ He tapped a finger on his temple. ‘Not a complete hopeless case of a father here.’ He smiled as he jumped off the stool. ‘I’m trying, at least. I’ll be back around 3. Call me again if you need me.’

‘Will do,’ Albus said, raising his hand to give a small wave as his father dashed back into the living room to get to the fireplace, an extra spring in his step barely visible, but definitely present.

As if on cue, Albus heard feet pattering around on the upstairs landing. Frantically, he poured two cups of tea with now lukewarm water, and positioned himself behind the kitchen counter, feigning nonchalance as he buttered toast when Scorpius practically skipped down the hallway. Albus turned his head to greet him, and stopped in his tracks.

‘MUCH better,’ Scorpius said, pulling a towel off his shoulders to finish patting his hair dry. His slightly damp hair was pretty dishevelled, but that was a standard Scorpius look. It was his shirt—or lack therein—that shocked Albus.

‘Dude, put some clothes on,’ Albus teased, trying to keep his voice steady, and praying to several higher powers that his cheeks weren’t reddening. ‘And don’t make me warn you about how you’ll catch a cold with that wet hair.’ He prodded the butter knife accusingly in Scorpius’s direction, and quickly lowered his hand when he realised it was trembling.

Scorpius scoffed. ‘Scorpius Malfoy doesn’t catch _colds_. He has the immune system of a…’ he trailed off, thinking. ‘Well, a very robust mammal,’ he finished eventually, grinning goofily. As if to prove his point, he whipped the towel purposefully over his shoulder, and jokingly slicked his hair back with his hand. Albus snorted as Scorpius flexed exaggeratedly, and went back to buttering the toast. _You’re fine. Just play it cool for now. See how it goes,_ he thought to himself, making an effort to conceal the fact he was having to take several shaky deep breaths.

Scorpius stopped flexing and trotted over to the counter. ‘Besides,’ he said, ‘it is no longer supposed to rain today, and we are now going to enjoy balmy summer temperatures. I fully intend on basking in this brief warmth.’ He leaned around Albus and made to grab one of the mugs of tea.

‘Oh, yours is the one on the right,’ Albus said quickly, repositioning the knife in his hand, and gently redirecting Scorpius’s hand to the correct mug. ‘I thought you’d prefer to have mum’s _Harpies_ mug. She’s not here to tell me off for using it and warn me fifty times that it’s fragile, so I figured we’d seize the opportunity and let you be a nerd while drinking tea.’

He felt Scorpius tense beside him, his hand freezing next to the mug. Confused, Albus was about to turn around and ask his friend if he was alright, but Scorpius acted first.

Moving his hand, Scorpius wrapped his arms in a hug around Albus’s waist from behind, and buried his face in the crook in Albus’s back. Albus was so shocked by the gesture that he nearly dropped the knife.

‘What’s that for?’ Albus said gently, only the slightest tremor evident in his voice.

Scorpius’s voice was muffled as he spoke into Albus’s shirt. Albus could feel his smile. ‘I’m just so lucky,’ he said simply, ‘to have you as my best friend.’

Albus was so overcome with affection for Scorpius that he felt as if he wanted to cry, laugh, and faint all at the same time. There was no way in _hell_ he felt able to say anything to Scorpius. At least, not now. This, right here? He was happy— _content_. He had the most unbelievable best friend, and right now, the idea of potentially losing that with a somewhat hysterical love confession sounded like the worst idea in the world. He needed some time to get his head straight. That didn’t mean that Scorpius’s impromptu hugs were any easier to take without feeling like he was going to implode.

 _This is it,_ he thought to himself with a grim acceptance as Scorpius gave him an extra squeeze, then pulled away and reached for his mug. _This is how I’ll die._

* * *

‘I told you, I _can’t_. I think I’ve forgotten how.’

‘Rubbish, Albus. You can’t _forget_ how to fly a broom.’

‘You’d be surprised. I’m fine standing down here, honestly. Now just let me keep tossing you the quaffle, or I’ll feel inclined to send a bludger your way.’

Scorpius met Albus’s eyes with a frightened expression and fake-bit his nails. ‘Go easy on me! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not particularly gifted when it comes to coordination.’

‘Wait, really?’ Albus said, feigning surprise. He flung his arm back, and then propelled a quaffle above him in Scorpius’s direction. ‘I would _never have guessed._ ’

Scorpius reached to his left, balancing his weight rather precariously on the broom. He caught the quaffle one-handed, and let out a triumphant cheer while Albus applauded. In his excitement, he let go of the broom with his right hand; feeling himself slipping, he made a frantic grab for the wooden handle, nearly dropping the quaffle in the process. Clinging onto the handle for dear life, he thrust his body weight forward, trapping the quaffle between his upper half and the broom to stop it from dropping on top of Albus.

Watching the display of coordination from about ten feet below, Albus winced. ‘This bodes well,’ he called up, taking a cautionary step backwards.

Scorpius brought the broom down to the ground to safely adjust his grip, and tossed the quaffle back to Albus, shooting him an apologetic smile. ‘Fifteenth time lucky?’

They’d been out in the garden for the last hour, Albus standing in the middle of the grass throwing the quaffle, and Scorpius whizzing around overhead on one of Ginny’s old brooms attempting to catch it. Albus had initially been disappointed at the positive weather forecast—he’d been looking forward to the two of them spending a cosy day curled up indoors watching TV. While they ate breakfast and listened to the news headlines on the radio, however, Albus had been inspired by the report on the Quidditch league tables to raid their shed for Ginny’s old training brooms. They were all used fairly regularly by the family—Albums excluded—and were in decent enough condition to take on an inexperienced flyer. Albus figured Scorpius would be keen to get as much practise in as possible if he was really aiming to try out for the team, and he was right: Scorpius’s face had lit up when he’d made the suggestion.

It seemed this practise was more necessary than he’d thought.

‘I was rather hoping this would come naturally to me,’ Scorpius admitted as he drove the broom into the air again with a visible wobble. ‘Dad was a pretty talented seeker back in his day. I think I’ve inherited so much clumsiness that it’s outweighed any skilled quidditch genes he might have passed on to me.’

‘You and me both,’ Albus snorted. ‘I can’t even get on a broom without fearing for my life, and it shows. If James, Ted, and Lily are all playing, I tend to just sit out and watch. Sometimes they even get me to be the snitch. Usually without warning,’ he added darkly.

That earned a laugh from Scorpius, before Albus broke him off, calling out to warn him about the quaffle heading his way. With another clumsy movement, he caught the quaffle one-handed again, and even managed to hold onto it this time.

‘Much more promising! We’ll make a quidditch player of you yet,’ Albus congratulated, holding his hands out to catch the quaffle as Scorpius sent it flying back. But before Albus threw it back again, he spotted Flitwick the owl floating towards them out of the corner of his eye. He lowered the quaffle, and held out his arm for Flitwick to perch on—with an appreciative hoot, Flitwick obliged, and held out his leg for Albus to untie the two letters. Albus managed the first, and quickly scanned the back of the parchment. _Yep, Rose’s handwriting_. Turning to the second letter, he frowned. It was completely blank. Before he could attempt to untie this mysterious second letter, Flitwick had practically sprung off Albus’s arm, and was flapping his way up to Scorpius, who was still hovering a few feet above on the broom.

 _That’s bizarre,_ Albus thought as he unfurled the parchment to read what Rose had written. _Is that from Rose too? Has Rose sent us both letters? Unless she’s complaining to Scorpius about me again,_ Albus mused, turning his attention to Flitwick again, who, now having completed his delivery, had perched expectantly on Albus’s shoulder, seeking a reward for his services.

‘I always feel bad if I don’t feed him straight away,’ Albus joked, half to himself, giving Flitwick a gentle stroke on the forehead. ‘His facial expression gets me every time.’ As if in response, his eyes as startlingly wide as ever, Flitwick hooted approvingly, and gave Albus a hopeful peck.

As Albus rummaged in his pocket for some seeds—he’d learned the hard way to prepare owl treats in advance—he frowned, pausing in his tracks. _Why was Flitwick even delivering these letters? Shouldn’t the Weasley’s owl be delivering these? Unless he’d already taken a letter there, and was waiting for a response…_

‘Scorpius,’ Albus said, turning his head upwards, ‘is that from Rose?’

Up until this moment, Scorpius had been staring into space, his brow furrowed contemplatively, and the letter still folded in his hand. Amazingly, he was still balanced pretty well on his broom, and hadn’t even wobbled in the last couple of minutes. He looked down suddenly as Albus spoke, his trance broken.

‘Oh. Uh, yeah. I sent her something this morning, and she just replied.’ Scorpius looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if he were admitting to a crime.

‘That figures, as Flitwick was delivering them at the same time. I was just wondering who it was from, as there was no writing on the outside, that’s all. Has she said something about what I wrote?’

‘No, no,’ Scorpius said hastily, stuffing the letter in his pocket. ‘Nothing like that. What did she say to you?’

Albus turned his attention back to his own letter. Tersely written, but no more than he’d expected. He read aloud:

_‘Albus,_

_I appreciate that. I’ll talk to you soon._

_Rose.’_

He looked back up at Scorpius to gage his reaction.

Scorpius nodded slowly. ‘Not an outright rejection. Pretty promising.’

Albus sighed. ‘I’ll take it.’ He folded the letter up and slid it into his pocket, and prepared to throw the quaffle back to Scorpius. Scorpius, however, still appeared to be deep in thought, and it took him a moment to come to his senses and realise Albus was waiting for him.

‘Sorry,’ Scorpius called down, moving the broom back into position.

Albus tutted good-naturedly. ‘She obviously said something worth contemplating.’ He felt a nervous tug in his stomach—a warning, almost. _Careful where you go with this, Albus._

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly as best he could while clinging onto the broom handle to stay upright. ‘Not particularly. She just said she was excited to see us later.’ He let out a small laugh.

Albus wasn’t entirely convinced. He knew Scorpius couldn’t lie to save his life—Scorpius did too—but considering he was several feet below his friend, he couldn’t judge it properly. Nor could he work out whether Scorpius’s laugh was stranger or more nervous than usual.

Now suspicious, Albus frowned. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have pushed it, but the idea of Rose sending something potentially private to Scorpius was sending his stomach into knots. As was the idea of her being excited to see Scorpius. And the lack of writing on the envelope? _Invisible ink._ His brain began to add everything up, and he let out a breath. _He wrote to her a couple of nights ago, too. With invisible ink. Why? So I couldn’t see what he was saying? What’s he hiding?_

Out of some twisted adrenaline surge, made easier by the fact he was several feet away from Scorpius, Albus found himself blurting out:

‘What else did she say?’

He regretted it instantly, even before Scorpius had replied.

Scorpius looked visibly taken aback at Albus’s forwardness. ‘That was it, honestly. Does it matter?’

Feeling his hands go clammy under his grip on the quaffle, Albus tried to formulate an excuse. _Come on, anything that doesn’t make me sound like I’m prying._

‘No, no. I was just curious.’

Scorpius lowered the broom a couple of feet so he could address Albus properly.

‘Why?’ Scorpius queried. ‘Do you not think I’d tell you if there was anything else? And what else do you think she’d say, anyway?’ he added, now starting to sound defensive.

Albus groaned. _Backtrack, backtrack._ ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Except it clearly does,’ Scorpius took his hands off the broom and folded his arms. ‘What do you think she’s said? Or what I’ve said to her?’

Albus was beginning to panic, which made his next words come out as a defensive retort. ‘Look, I don’t care what she writes to you, or what you’ve been writing to her over the last few days.’

‘What makes you think I’ve been writing to her over the last few days?’

As Scorpius’s words hit him, Albus found himself getting angry. ‘Seriously?’ he exclaimed. ‘I know you’ve been writing to her over the last few days. The owl you supposedly sent to your dad? In _invisible ink_?’ He laughed sardonically. ‘It makes sense now—you _were_ writing to her. And you’re fully entitled to write to her if you want to. But don’t pretend you know what that letter says, because _clearly_ you have no idea, as that’s written in the ink too!’ Albus paused for breath. ‘I’m not an idiot, Scorpius,’ he said, feeling more hurt now than anything.

Scorpius looked aghast. ‘I never said you were! And you’re right—I _am_ entitled to write to her when I want, and I don’t have to tell you every time I do. Why does it matter?’

‘Again, I never said you had to!’ Albus protested. ‘And it _matters_ because I just don’t get why you’d lie about it.’

‘Albus, you know I can’t lie to save my life—’

‘Yes, I’m fully aware. You get all uncomfortable and defensive—oh, wait, _just like you are now_. So why are you trying so hard to pretend you’re not lying?’

Scorpius flung his arms up into the air in exasperation. The broom gave an ominous creak beneath him. ‘ _Fine!_ So I didn’t tell you I wrote her a letter or two! Big whoop! Ten points from Slytherin!’

Albus gritted his teeth. ‘Look, I don’t care what you write to her in your precious little letters,’ he said loudly. ‘I don’t care whether you’re comparing notes on what a horrible, self-absorbed friend I am, or whether you’re writing each other poetic confessions of your undying love for each other, and how much you can’t wait to see each other tomorrow.’ He paused for breath. Lowering his voice, he spoke his next words bitterly. ‘It’s your business, not mine. I shouldn’t be trying to rub my nose in it.’

Scorpius looked completely dumbfounded for a moment. Then realisation dawned on his face. ‘You don’t believe me, do you? You thought—you honestly still think I still like Rose? _Albus_ ,’ he cried, exasperated. ‘We’ve been through this!’ He looked around him, a wild look in his eyes, as if searching for the willpower to carry on talking. ‘What do you want me to say? That I’m in _love_ with her? That I’ve actually been sending her those godforsaken love letters that _everyone_ is convinced I’m writing? Do you really not think I’d tell you if that were the case?’

Albus tried to interject, feeling terrible, but Scorpius was on his own indignant adrenaline rush, and wasn’t about to stop.

‘Why can’t you trust what I’ve been saying about Rose for the last year? She rejected me, I moved on. Is that so hard to believe?’

Albus made to interrupt, but was suddenly distracted when he realised that since taking his hands from the handle, Scorpius had actually shifted forwards on the broom.

‘No, Scorp, you—’

‘What? Why not? Why don’t you believe it?’

Looking at Albus intently, Scorpius had shifted forwards again, much to Albus’s alarm, and was now verging on sliding completely off the front of the broom. Albus took a cautious step towards him.

‘Scorp, put your hands back on the—’

‘You have a problem with me liking Rose, don’t you?’ Scorpius breathed. ‘Is that it? You always acted uncomfortable whenever I brought her up, but it wasn’t me, it was the _idea—_ ’

‘Scorp, don’t lean—’

‘I _knew_ it! I—’

And with that, Scorpius leaned that little bit too far over the handle of the broom, sending himself toppling over forwards as the broom overbalanced. He fell half onto the grass and half onto Albus—he wasn’t far enough off the ground to be badly injured as he fell, but regardless, Albus hurled the quaffle to one side and flung himself forward in a failed attempt to catch him.

Scorpius landed with a cry, his left elbow hitting the ground first and taking his weight. Instantly concerned, Albus made to jump to his feet, but Scorpius’s legs were still sprawled across his upper torso, and he was afraid to move in case he jolted him and injured him further.

‘Jesus, Scorpius, are you okay?’

Scorpius hissed through his teeth in response, then gave his elbow a tentative wriggle. He grimaced suddenly, his face flashing with pain, and Albus winced.

Noticing his concern, Scorpius turned his head and shot Albus an encouraging smile. ‘Minimal damage. I’m alright—it’s just my elbow.’

Albus laughed shakily despite himself, mostly in relief, and slightly in the hilarious realisation that Scorpius had literally fallen face-first off his broom. ‘You sure? Does it hurt anywhere?’

Scorpius gingerly hauled himself up, shooting Albus an apologetic grin as he accidentally jabbed him in the stomach with his foot. ‘Really, I’m fine. I’ll just assess the damage.’ He turned to look at his elbow, and instantly reeled away.

‘Woah, okay. Okay. Not good.’

Scorpius blanched, and Albus’s stomach turned in dread. Kneeling upright, he gently leaned over to look at Scorpius’s elbow, his heart hammering. He gulped as he saw what Scorpius had: now that Scorpius was sitting upright, there was a worrying trickle of blood making its way down his arm.

Gently, he lifted Scorpius’s arm—but before he could begin panicking even more, on closer inspection, he realised it was just a small graze. 

‘Your elbow must’ve caught on a stone or something on your way down,’ Albus breathed in relief _._ ‘A cut.’ _Thankfully nothing worse._ ‘We better get you patched up inside.’ He took hold of Scorpius’s right arm, and began guiding him in the direction of the house.

Scorpius lifted his left elbow gingerly and craned his neck to inspect it fully, and relaxed when he realised Albus was right. ‘Phew. No problem. Looks like my quidditch career is still intact!’ he said cheerfully, slinging his hand over Albus’s shoulder for extra support.

Albus let go of Scorpius’s arm, but before he had so much as lowered his hand, Scorpius let out a sound of protest. ‘Please keep holding on,’ he said quickly. ‘I think my legs are still a bit shaky. They’re not hurt,’ he added, as if he could sense Albus’s concern increasing. ‘I’m just still slightly in shock.’ He let out the loud, nervous laugh of someone who had just been mildly traumatised, and Albus felt a pang of guilt. _If we hadn’t been arguing_ …

His train of thought was broken as Scorpius readjusted the arm slung over Albus’s shoulder, and leaned gratefully into Albus’s grip.

Albus tightened his grasp on Scorpius’s arm as they staggered across the grass. ‘Just promise me you’ll take balance into account in quidditch practice. As well as the standard catching ability and general coordination,’ he said in good humour, well aware his voice was shaking.

Scorpius sighed next to him. ‘You know full well that I can promise no such thing. That’s three too many things to focus on.’

* * *

Back inside, leaning over the bathroom sink, Albus helped a shaken Scorpius rinse off and bandage up his cut elbow. They joked their way through it, both attempting to hide how shaken up they were—not just from Scorpius’s near disaster, but because of the argument that had been interrupted.

Now suitably bandaged, having insisted several times to a worried Albus that he was absolutely fine, Scorpius was perched on the worn fabric sofa in the living room with a mug of tea, while Albus crouched in front of the TV, pressing buttons on the network box in an attempt to make it work.

‘Aw, Albus, muggle technology getting a bit much for you?’ Scorpius teased, sipping from his mug. He was resting his bad elbow on the arm of the sofa, brandishing the cup of tea in one hand, and leafing through a TV guide with the other.

Albus glared at Scorpius from his position on the floor. ‘Feeling better by any chance? Okay then, Scorpius the Technologically Adept,’ he said scathingly, ‘impart your wisdom on my lowly expertise. If you can find the HDMI that the Sky box is on, I’ll give you unlimited access to James’s pepper imp stash.’

Scorpius took another nonchalant sip of tea. ‘I literally have no idea what that means.’

‘What, _pepper imps?_ ’

‘If I wasn’t incapacitated in the bicep region right now, I’d throw a cushion at you.’

‘Tut tut, Scorpius. Always resorting to violence.’

‘Shut up. What in Merlin’s name is an HDMI?’

‘To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I usually just press buttons until the TV turns on.’ To prove his point, Albus pushed a few more buttons on the remote angrily; the TV gave an encouraging click of energy in response, and they both cheered as the screen finally flickered to life.

‘Now this,’ Albus said importantly, ‘is not the sort of thing they teach you in Muggle Studies.’

Scorpius nodded, lifting his mug in concurrence. ‘Fine by me, seeing as I’m not taking it.’

‘ _However_ ,’ Albus continued, pulling himself off the floor, ‘it’s a valuable skill to have.’ He collapsed on the sofa next to Scorpius, thrusting the remote control in his friend’s direction.

‘Essentially, if in doubt, press buttons that resemble power symbols until something happens,’ Albus summarised, pointing to the top half of the remote. ‘And that goes for pretty much all muggle technology.’

Scorpius put down the TV guide and prodded the remote with a finger, looking bemused. ‘Remind me to leave you in charge of everything remotely technological in the future. I can turn on a laptop and use a games console, but anything other than that is beyond my poor wizard brain.’

Albus chuckled. ‘You got it. I’m not the best at it either, as I’ve inherited Dad’s ineptitude with technology, but I’ve had some practise. Whenever anything goes even remotely wrong with a phone or a TV, Mum and Dad panic, so James, Lily and I have to come to the rescue.’

‘At least I can call myself the resident quidditch expert in our friendship now, if anything,’ Scorpius said optimistically.

Albus smiled in agreement. ‘Sounds good to me. I mean, with people like Mum and Rose in the family, you’ll be joining my family’s hoard of experts, but I’ll take it.’

At the mention of Rose, the conversation died.

Albus silently kicked himself as the TV flickered on in the background. He was too distracted to pay attention to what was happening onscreen—an unwelcome reminder of the awkwardness he’d initially caused the night before.

 _Merlin, my self-destructiveness is hitting new levels,_ he thought bitterly. He wished he could rewind the argument, and go back to late last night, after he and Scorpius had talked things through. That had lifted a weight from his shoulders that he hadn’t even realised was there. The more the week went on, however, and the more feelings he discovered were flying around in his head, the more problems like this seemed to arise.

_The more problems you’ve caused, you mean._

Albus shook off the intrusive thought, taking a deep breath to calm himself. _The only reason I’m causing problems is because I’m realising things,_ he attempted to convince himself. Quite honestly, he had no idea what he was doing, or what he was supposed to do with all of these terrifying new feelings. The things he’d said over the last few days, and the conversations they’d started, were unfamiliar territory. And deep down, he was petrified.

 _I have a lot to figure out. And I’m going about it in completely the wrong way_ , he thought, nearly smirking out loud. In hindsight, having had the brief distraction of Scorpius’s injury, he knew exactly why he’d reacted how he did to Rose and Scorpius’s letters.

_Merlin, jealousy is horrific._

Granted, Albus knew he couldn’t quell his discomfort at broaching the topic, and still felt that tell-tale twinge of jealousy, but nevertheless, he took a shaky breath and went to break the silence.

To his surprise, Scorpius spoke first.

‘Look, Albus, I am sorry I acted weird earlier. About not telling you about the letter, I mean,’ Scorpius said, clearly choosing his words carefully. ‘But I—’

‘You don’t need to apologise for anything,’ Albus interrupted quietly. ‘You’re perfectly entitled to not tell me about things. I was prying.’

Scorpius sniffed. ‘I mean, you’re allowed to pry a bit. It kind of comes in the best friend job description.’

Albus exhaled slowly. ‘Yes, but I’ve been acting like a jealous idiot. I was pretty out of line.’

Scorpius’s eyebrows raised slightly at the use of the word ‘jealous’, just subtly enough for Albus to miss it.

‘Thank you,’ Scorpius mumbled.

They were silent for a moment.

‘You know I hate arguing with you,’ Scorpius said finally, reaching a hand into the middle of the sofa.

Albus sighed, accepting the invitation to take his hand. ‘I’m sorry. I just… panicked. I couldn’t think of a reason why you’d lie to me about it. I assumed it had to be because you still liked her. I’m pretty clueless about the whole romance thing, but I got as far as guessing you wanted to keep it a secret.’ Albus paused there, afraid to keep on talking for fear of revealing the entire truth of how he felt.

Scorpius was quiet for a few seconds. At this point, his repeated silences were beginning to unnerve Albus. ‘Honestly, my knowledge is pretty lacking as well,’ he admitted. ‘But rest assured, I knew enough last year to recognise Rose wasn’t interested. And to be honest,’ he added matter-of-factly, ‘I didn’t take it too much to heart. I don’t even think I was as passionately in love with her as I made out. I definitely had a crush, but I just don’t think I was used to girls talking to me,’ he said jokingly.

Despite Scorpius playing it off as a joke, this genuinely took Albus by surprise. ‘I had no idea.’ _Wonder if the seething jealousy made me miss that?_ he thought sarcastically.

Scorpius smirked. ‘I suppose I was pretty unclear about that. Maybe I was actually embarrassed by the whole thing. If I’m being honest, though, I’m just glad to have her as a friend. She’s been very supportive. Of quidditch stuff,’ he added hastily.

Albus squeezed Scorpius’s hand. ‘I’m sorry I went on about it so much. That must’ve been pretty annoying,’ he said guiltily.

Scorpius laughed. ‘You don’t say! No more annoying than I must’ve been when I was in the throes of my crush,’ he teased. ‘No hard feelings, though.’ His smile faded slightly as he lowered his voice to speak gently. ‘And if you really had a problem with me liking Rose, you should have said something. Despite how clueless we both are, I do appreciate your advice on this sort of stuff.’

Albus returned the grin, then turned his attention to their hands. ‘Ditto. And there was no problem, really. I guess I just found it weird because she was so horrible to you initially,’ he said, avoiding eye contact with Scorpius, and shrugging in what he hoped was a convincing enough way to divert attention from the topic. It wasn’t a complete fib; he had always felt Scorpius’s affections could have been better placed. Only now did he realise the other ulterior motive behind his distaste for Scorpius liking Rose. ‘It was pretty immature of me. I just think I occasionally need a bit of a slap round the face as a reminder to not be an idiot,’ he said evenly. _That much is true._

‘I don’t think you’re an idiot,’ Scorpius said quietly.

With his attention on their joined hands, Albus watched as Scorpius ran his thumb over the back of Albus’s hand. Albus’s breath caught in his throat, temporarily preventing him from responding.

But before he could even attempt to respond, a familiar low rumbling filled the room, and a cloud of green smoke billowed out from the fireplace. In their shock, Albus and Scorpius let go of each other’s hands.

As the cloud cleared and Ginny stepped out of the fireplace, laden down with shopping bags. She took a definitive step out of the fireplace, and did a double take when she saw Albus and Scorpius on the sofa in front of her.

‘Hi Mum,’ Albus managed, exchanging a confused glance with Scorpius. _What is it with my parents and randomly showing up today?_

‘Oh! Hi guys! Sorry to come barging in.’ Ginny looked oddly flustered—an unusual state for her to be in, particularly for someone who was generally relaxed in temperament.

‘You’re back from work early,’ Albus commented, prompting an explanation.

Ginny sighed loudly. ‘Good observation. Hermione wrote to me while I was at work to say she’d be leaving the office early, so they’re arriving slightly earlier.’

Albus winced. They hadn’t been expecting anyone to arrive until at least 8:30

‘Do you want a hand with anything?’ Scorpius piped up.

Ginny smiled at Scorpius gratefully, and he beamed back. ‘Please. There’s a lot to be done. I won’t trouble you with too much, though—you’re our guest, after all. It’s lovely to have you here to meet everyone though. They’ve all heard so much about you,’ she said warmly.

‘Thank you—I can’t wait to meet everyone.’

Scorpius spoke calmly, but as he turned to Albus, his heart lifted when he saw how delighted Scorpius looked to be included.

‘Excellent,’ Ginny said cheerfully. ‘Right. We’ve got until this evening to concoct something that’ll hold its own against my mother’s efforts. Let the panic begin.’ Determined, she bustled out of the room, heading for the kitchen. ‘No rush, but I’d appreciate a hand whenever you guys have a spare moment. Don’t worry if you’re busy. Or injured?’ she added questioningly, noticing Scorpius’s bandaged arm. She looked from one to the other in confusion; Albus and Scorpius smiled sheepishly in response, and despite her obvious curiosity, she didn’t push it any further when they didn’t respond. They exchanged a guilty look when she’d left the room.

‘You’re not too injured to peel potatoes, are you?’ Albus said in an undertone.

‘Ah, not sure about that,’ Scorpius muttered. ‘Better to stay on the safe side and be completely unhelpful all afternoon.’

‘Is James home?’ Ginny called suddenly down the hallway.

‘No,’ Albus shouted back. ‘He’s out with Ted.’

His mother’s sigh could be heard from the kitchen. ‘Let’s hope he makes an appearance soon. For once I could use some of his far-from-legal fireworks.’ Her mutters carried through the hallway, and Albus and Scorpius snorted in laughter. As Ginny began opening and closing cupboards purposefully in the kitchen, Albus exhaled slowly and leaned back into the sofa, already looking exhausted.

‘Well. This wasn’t quite the relaxing day I had planned, but it should hopefully be worth it,’ Albus remarked.

Scorpius eyed his arm, pouting. ‘Yeah. I wouldn’t exactly call my near amputation relaxing.’

‘Drama queen. You’ll live.’

The laughter in Scorpius’s eyes faded to concern as Albus hauled himself off the sofa. ‘You okay?’ Scorpius said gently.

Albus turned around in surprise. ‘I’m fine. You’re the walking wounded here.’

Scorpius shook his head. ‘No, I meant… are you feeling… I just hope you know I would never keep anything from you,’ he said finally. 'At least not permanently,’ he joked, smiling. ‘I may have to temporarily withhold information on the occasional birthday present.’

‘I know,’ Albus said. ‘I know that really.’ He reached out a hand to haul Scorpius up from the sofa. ‘And I’m the lucky one, you know.’

Tentatively, so as not to disturb the bandage, Scorpius lifted his left arm, taking Albus’s hand with his right. ‘Oh yeah?’

Albus heaved Scorpius upright, holding his other hand out to steady him in case he overbalanced. They were now standing face to face about a foot apart, and Albus found himself focusing every ounce of his energy into forcing his cheeks not to redden. ‘You’re unbelievably patient with me,’ he said evenly. ‘Even when I’m being completely unreasonable.’

Scorpius looked vaguely dismayed. ‘As if _I_ haven’t been unreasonable in the past.’

Albus’s guffaw of laughter took Scorpius by surprise. ‘Scorpius, you don’t have an unreasonable bone in your lanky body.’ He looked at his friend fondly. ‘You’re just too considerate and level-headed to overreact on the same scale as me.’

Grinning once more, Scorpius rolled his eyes, and pulled Albus in for a hug with his good arm.

With his head resting on Scorpius’s shoulder, and with Scorpius unable to read his face for signs of worry, Albus let down his guard for a moment. The tears that prickled behind his eyes were both for what had just been said, and for what he desperately wanted to tell Scorpius. As with the calm happiness he had felt last night, he wanted to preserve this moment in his memory, and hold onto the feeling of contentment that was overwhelming him. He knew with every fibre of his being that he could trust Scorpius with anything—any thought, any insecurity, or any one of his feelings—and that Scorpius in turn wouldn’t judge him. But his contentment with their friendship, and how much it meant to him in this exact moment, also reminded him with a wrench of fear of what he had to lose if he told Scorpius how he felt and his feelings weren’t returned.

 _Would it be worth it to tell him anyway? To see how he reacts? You know full well he’d never react maliciously, nor would he ever hurt your feelings. You mean too much to each other._ Albus hoped and assumed as much, anyway. _Is it worth the risk?_

Scorpius pulled away first, breaking Albus’s stream of consciousness.

‘Come on,’ Scorpius said brightly. ‘We better go help your mum. Those potatoes won’t peel themselves!’

Albus smiled at Scorpius’s enthusiasm. ‘I’m sure Mum will be glad to see that your enthusiasm for literally everything stretches to things as mundane as potato peeling.’

‘Yes, she will!’ Ginny’s hopeful voice carried down the hallway. Albus and Scorpius exchanged an amused glance.

Wincing slightly as he brushed his elbow, Scorpius rolled his sleeves up determinedly. ‘Say no more. Potato preparer extraordinaire at your service.’

As they entered the kitchen, Ginny sighed in relief. ‘Thank you, Scorpius. Albus, you’re on tidying detail. We have five hours to make this house presentable. I know it’ll be trashed by the end of the night, but I’d like to make it look like we at least made an attempt.’

Albus nodded. He couldn’t complain, considering he had been in a similar state of panic before Scorpius arrived. ‘I’m on it.’

‘Good. Your dad’s getting back in about an hour, and hopefully James and Ted will be home soon to help too,’ she said, counting on her fingers. ‘Until then, we’re peeling as many vegetables as physically possible.’

Scorpius clapped his hands together with another wince as his elbow inevitably twinged in pain. ‘I do love a challenge.’

Ginny smiled as she made her way back to the kitchen. ‘Please don’t ever change, Scorpius.’

Scorpius grinned at Albus before bouncing out of the room after her, mouthing ‘Good luck!’ as he went. Albus stayed where he was for an extra moment, inhaling a deep breath to steady his thoughts before he started tidying. This definitely wasn’t the right time to have said something; there was too much happening for anyone to process anything.

There was still one thing he had refused to let himself think, however, not as he tidied, nor as he had stood with his head buried in Scorpius’s shoulder. A thought that was so hopeful, and filled him with so much joy, yet seemed so remote a possibility, that he didn’t even dare to entertain it.

_What if he feels the same?_

As he plumped cushions, piled up newspapers and gathered up sweet wrappers, he ignored the tears prickling behind his eyes once more. It didn’t matter how he felt; for the sake of his friendship, Albus had decided, he knew he had to tell Scorpius at some point before he left; he was far too unsubtle to keep it from Scorpius any longer. Scorpius would figure out something was up before Albus could so much as smile nervously and feign ignorance.

He was certain the right moment would arise.

He was just terrified it would all go wrong.

* * *

If Albus wasn’t already impressed with how quickly his family could mobilise for guests coming to stay, then he would now be officially amazed. Within the space of a couple of hours, the family had collectively managed to prepare and begin cooking enough buffet-style food for the entire extended Weasley family. Currently, they were looking at a turnout of around twenty people, give or take a few depending on who could make it.

Despite the fact that Albus wasn’t a perfectionist by any means when it came to tidying—unless Scorpius visiting was on the table—he’d made an impressive effort. Over the last couple of hours, the vacuum cleaner drowning out any and all noise, leaving him blissfully unaware of the chaos in the kitchen, he’d cleaned the house to a reasonable standard. He’d tidied up as many of the rooms as he could, bar James’s room, which the whole family—immediate and extended—had accepted was a perpetual disaster. The floors had been vacuumed, clutter had been tidied away—or at least stuffed into drawers or under beds—and Albus had even reorganised the bottom bookshelf outside his parents’ room. Granted, it wasn’t a priority, but as far as he was concerned, it made the hallway seem less cluttered.

Satisfied with his efforts, Albus grabbed a bottle of detergent and hauled the vacuum cleaner up in his arms once more. Sending up a silent prayer for his seventeenth birthday to come sooner, so he could use magic to do this in the future, he plodded downstairs to tackle the kitchen, craning his neck over the vacuum to watch his step.

He knew he’d have to work around whoever was cooking in the kitchen, but he was completely unprepared for the chaos that had descended in his absence. Teddy was back from his grandma’s, and James had returned, and both appeared to be part of a washing-up assembly line, instated by Ginny, who was surrounded by floating bowls and plates, which she was methodically loading with food. Harry had also appeared, and was frowning in concentration over a mixing bowl, occasionally flicking his wand at the oven to let a hovering tray fly in whenever Ginny called a warning over her shoulder. James and Teddy were talking in hushed tones, and occasionally raised their voices to contribute to the discussion between Scorpius and Lily, who were hunched over the kitchen table, surrounded by baguettes and loaves of bread. Scorpius seemed quite content to be on bread duty, and was cheerily chatting to Lily as he sliced bread with his uninjured arm.

The radio was on in the background, playing some crazily upbeat, summery tune that only seemed to add to the frenetic atmosphere. Only Scorpius seemed truly relaxed. He was the first to spot Albus enter the kitchen, and beamed when he did so. He waved a hand in the air in greeting from across the kitchen, clearly forgetting he was still wielding a sharp knife; Lily hissed in surprise, and carefully pried the knife out of his grip. She didn’t scold him outright when he apologised, but as he turned his attention to Albus, he missed Lily’s uncanny impression of her mother’s dagger-shooting glare.

Still stood in the doorway, Albus chuckled at Scorpius’s lack of observance, putting the vacuum down next to him. Ginny turned at the sound, then smiled in relief. ‘Thank you,’ she said gratefully.

Harry raised a wooden spoon in greeting. A brief, knowing look passed between them, and Albus smiled grimly for a second, before responding to Ginny.

‘No problem. James’s room is a lost cause, but everything else looks fairly presentable.’

‘Excellent. I trust your judgement.’

James snorted, overhearing. ‘Since when?’

Ginny scowled at her son. ‘Since Albus started taking some pride in how this house looked. Granted, this is only a recent development, but at least he prioritised his guest. He has standards.’

‘I’m not entirely sure James has ever had standards,’ Lily said crisply, aggressively slapping butter onto a small china dish. A sore spot, evidently.

‘At least I can pretend _something_ is under control,’ Ginny sighed. ‘Albus, you’re relieved of duty. I’ll sort the kitchen out later. Scorpius, you’re free to go too,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘Thank you so much for your help,’ she said appreciatively, smiling at Scorpius as he got up from the table. ‘We don’t like to make a habit of enlisting our guests in the workforce.’

‘Ah, you’ve been upgraded back to guest status now,’ James commented, somewhat bitterly, tossing a handful of cutlery into the washing up bowl with fervour.

‘Can I apply for this upgrade too?’ Teddy muttered to James, who huffed in amusement.

They began muttering to each other, and Albus strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but was quickly distracted as Scorpius crossed the kitchen.

‘What’s the plan now?’ Scorpius said cheerfully, clasping his hands together.

Albus thought for a moment. ‘I think we’ve actually got a solid few hours to relax now,’ he said, feeling a wave of relief. ‘I vote heading up to the attic to escape from the chaos.’ He tugged on Scorpius’s shirt sleeve. ‘Let’s go before Mum and Dad find any more jobs for me.’

Albus felt his father’s eyes on him as they stepped into the hallway, and was reminded again of their conversation earlier, which he now felt had taken place days ago. He couldn’t tell if Harry was expecting something to happen now, or any time soon; he put it out of his mind as he followed Scorpius up the stairs to the attic. This was the last peace and quiet they’d be getting for the next few hours, and Albus wanted to savour it—even if that just meant sitting and playing board games for a few hours.

‘Monopoly or Risk?’

‘I’m terrible at both. You pick.’

‘That’s not true, Albus. You thrashed me at Risk last time we played and you know it.’

‘Sorry, remind me when that was: was that before or after you annihilated me in front of the entire common room after Potions, and celebrated by eating an entire bag of Pepper Imps and downing half of Parkinson’s glass of Firewhisky?’

‘Come on, I just got caught up in the competitiveness of the match.’

‘More like caught up in the mob mentality.’

Scorpius stroked his chin. ‘I remember it as more of a supportive crowd.’

‘Yes, a whole crowd of Slytherin students cheering on Scorpius out of sportsmanship, not out of incredulity at his sheer _competitive brutality_ towards his best friend. A likely story.’

Scorpius smiled, not looking even remotely guilty. ‘Okay then. Rematch?’

* * *

Back downstairs in the kitchen, having sent Lily, James and Teddy outside to begin setting up the garden furniture, Harry updated Ginny on his conversation with Albus earlier. As he drew towards the end, he looked at her knowingly, waiting for her to reach the same conclusion. She’d actually got there much faster than Harry had—several years earlier, in fact.

‘And Albus still hasn’t said anything to him?’ she muttered incredulously.

‘Not from what I can see,’ Harry replied, his voice lowered.

‘Does he plan on doing so before Scorpius goes home?’

Harry shrugged. ‘I don’t know. He seemed pretty determined, and given his track record this week, I’d say he’ll—’

‘Of course he won’t,’ James interjected, standing in the doorway of the kitchen with his arms folded. ‘It’s Albus. He doesn’t hesitate to say how he feels about anyone else, but as you’ve probably guessed, Scorpius is different.’

Harry seemed stunned that James was aware of this, but Ginny sighed knowingly. ‘You’re right. James, can you talk to him?’

James looked affronted. ‘Why do I have to?’

‘I’ve already talked to him about it this morning,’ Harry said matter-of-factly, turning his attention back to his mixing bowl.

‘What do you mean you’ve already—Albus talked to _you_?’

‘Don’t sound so surprised,” Harry said, miffed. “He asked for my advice, and I provided it.’

‘So he talks to you once, and you’re using it as an excuse to get out of talking to him again?’

‘That’s not what I meant at all. What I _meant_ was that I’ve probably exhausted my usefulness as a parent for today. You’re his brother, so he’ll listen to you.’

‘Since when has Albus ever listened to anyone who isn’t Scorpius?’

‘Stop it you two,’ Ginny said crisply, pinching her brow, looking pained. ‘James, can you please just talk to your brother?’

‘About what?’ Lily had now appeared behind James.

‘Mum wants me to talk to Albus, and to tell him to confess his undying love for Scorpius.’

Lily wrinkled her nose. ‘I’m still surprised he hasn’t. Half of Gryffindor is convinced they’re together already. I assumed that was why he’d invited him over this week: to tell us.’

‘I know,’ James said in a bored voice. ‘The whole school’s in on it. If they don’t already think they’re together, then they have money on when it’ll become official.’

Ginny sniffed. ‘Is it too late to put money on it now?’

Harry had stopped mixing the bowl of potato salad by now, his eyes darting between his wife and children, and his face bearing an expression of complete and utter bewilderment.

Wanting to investigate what all the fuss was about, Teddy had come inside too, and crept up behind James and Lily a few moments ago.

‘Ah, see, I figured there was no way Al would actually do it this week,’ he said knowingly, making everyone jump. ‘They’re both in blissful denial. It’ll sink in when Scorpius goes home, and then the second they’re back in school? BAM.’ Teddy pounded his fist against his palm for emphasis, startling Lily, and making Harry jump out of his befuddled stupor. Unphased, Ginny was now leaning against the worktop, looking thoroughly amused.

‘Ditto,’ James agreed. ‘I thought we’d have to wait until they were back at school. I was ready to physically force them to go to Madam Puddifoot’s.’

‘Wait, so Al’s setting foot in Hogsmeade now?’

‘Keep up, Ted,’ James scoffed. ‘He’s an ever-changing man, my brother. His boyfriend has put him on the path of righteousness and self-improvement.’

‘Ah ah, _soon-to-be_ boyfriend,’ Teddy said, raising a finger. ‘Careful. There’s galleons riding on when this becomes official. Still, damn. I mean, if I were still in school, we could’ve just locked them in the prefects’ bathroom together. That’s worked for people before, right?’

‘Yeah, but Al and Scorp would probably be hours deep in a long, meaningful conversation about their special friendship before they even realised they were trapped.’

‘Touché. Still, an idea for your first week back, right?’

‘Oh, definitely.’

‘James, you are _not_ locking your brother and Scorpius in the prefects’ bathroom.’ Ginny exhaled and picked up her wand, which she’d rested on the worktop, signalling an end to the conversation. ‘Have you finished with the garden furniture yet?’

In response, Lily and Teddy traipsed back outside, Lily questioning Teddy on who was taking the bets. James made to follow them, but Ginny stopped him.

‘I meant what I said,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘Assuming Albus didn’t overhear any of that, and regardless of any bets that are riding on this, I still think you should talk to him about it.’

James groaned inwardly, but found himself agreeing. ‘ _Fine._ I’ll corner him about it before the party. I don’t fancy invading the love nest right now.’ Ignoring the surprised choking noises coming from his father’s direction, James sauntered back outside to join Teddy and Lily.

Still spluttering, Harry turned to his wife, incredulous. ‘Was it really that obvious that everyone else knew?’

Sighing, Ginny regarded her husband with a patient smile. ‘It’s been excruciatingly obvious for the last couple of years,’ she said simply.

Harry blinked in response, and Ginny threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’re as oblivious as your son!’ she exclaimed, though still straining to keep from talking too loudly. ‘You can see how happy they make each other. You’ve said yourself how much you’ve noticed Albus lights up around him. Your words, not mine.’

‘Yes,’ Harry said defensively, ‘but I always just thought they were really good friends.’

Ginny raised an eyebrow. ‘Isn’t that what you initially thought about Ron and Hermione?’

‘Yes, _I know._ I mean, of course, it was wonderful when I realised. It’s also wonderful that this is the case for Albus. And a lot did click into place when Albus told me earlier. I was just a bit slow on the uptake. I feel like I’m having to relearn everything about him,’ he admitted, rather dejectedly.

Ginny’s face softened, and she walked over to him to cup his cheek in her hand. ‘That may be the case, but look at what happened earlier. Albus sought _you_ out for advice. You may be having to learn about him again, but he’s willing to teach you. He wants you to be a bigger part of his life again.’ She reached up with her thumb and wiped away a stray tear before it could wind its way down her husband’s cheek.

Harry let out a shaky breath, and leaned into Ginny’s hand. ‘I just him to look up to me the way he used to. The way he does to you. You’ve always been a stronger, more solid figure in his life.’

Ginny tutted. ‘Don’t do yourself down. He still looks up to you, even when he doesn’t want to admit is. As we are still discovering, Albus is not the best at admitting things.’ 

Harry smiled despite himself. ‘Did we decide if it’s too late to place bets on when he will?’

‘’Course not.’ Ginny pretended to appear deep in thought. ‘I’ll go for next week. I think Ted’s right— he’ll wait until Scorpius has left, so he doesn’t have to worry about us.’

Harry looked thoughtful. ‘You know what? My money’s on tonight. I reckon he’ll go for it.’

Ginny looked surprised for a moment, then grinned. ‘Who knows? Perhaps you really do know Albus better than you think.’

* * *

When James knocked on the door of the attic a couple of hours later, he’d been bracing himself for awkwardly interrupting a heartfelt conversation, or simply his brother and Scorpius gazing mushily into each other’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the scene of carnage that had unfolded over the afternoon.

The sofa, drawers and tables had all been pushed against the walls to create a massive space in the centre of the room, where Albus and Scorpius had spread out what looked like three different board games. The box lids had been flung haphazardly in the corners, and playing pieces and 8-sided dice were scattered across the floor as far as the eye could see. The board itself was a rainbow of colours, enough mini soldiers for twice as many players strewn across the cardboard. Albus and Scorpius’s frenzied expressions all but added to the chaos, their eyes feverishly determined as they each shook a handful of dice, completely oblivious to James’s presence. They rolled at the same time, and cried out simultaneously in victory and defeat at the result; Albus rested his head in his hands and muttered expletives as Scorpius laughed manically and hurled several blue playing pieces from the board.

James contemplated turning straight back around and going back downstairs. With a defeated sigh, he decided against it, and cleared his throat.

He nearly recoiled as Albus and Scorpius started at the noise, fixing him with equally shocked expressions as they were snapped out of the game.

‘Al,’ James managed. ‘Party starting in half an hour? Ring a bell at all?’ he tapped his wrist impatiently, hoping they’d ignore the fact that he wasn’t actually wearing a watch, nor had he ever worn one.

Albus blinked as if he were coming out of a trance. ‘Right. Yes. Half an hour.’ He exchanged a guilty look with Scorpius, and smiled in what he hoped was a convincing way to his brother. ‘Tell Mum I’ll be down in half an hour, then. We just need to get ready.’

‘Sure,’ James said briskly. ‘Can I have a word with you first? Sorry to drag him away, Scorpius,’ he added. ‘Looks like you were beating him.’

Scorpius looked smugly at the board. ‘Nah, it’s fine. The game was basically over anyway.’

Albus let out a sound of protest as Scorpius started packing the game away with a wicked grin, but accepted defeat. ‘Make it quick, James. Scorpius, I’ll be back in a few.’

Scorpius nodded. Then his head darted up suddenly. ‘Oh, Albus?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Can I borrow one of your shirts? I’m still saving my blue one for lunch tomorrow.’

‘Sure, go for it. Have a rummage in the wardrobe and wear whatever.’

Scorpius shot a thumbs-up in Albus’s direction, then continued clearing up the board game.

Closing the door behind him, Albus descended the stairs after James. ‘What’s up? Does Mum want me to do anything?’

‘In a manner of speaking,’ James said curtly. He led Albus down the corridor towards his room. Confused, Albus followed him.

When they entered the room. James scratched his head, looking uncertain for a moment, then pointed to one of the beanbags on the floor. ‘Sit.’

Even more bewildered, Albus obeyed, his nose wrinkling slightly as he extracted a sock from the beanbag before sitting down. He looked up at James patiently, beginning to wonder if this was something to do with Teddy. He couldn’t think of another reason why James would actually want to talk to him. _Maybe he wants advice?_ Albus thought suddenly, his mind filling with dread.

‘I’m going to offer you some advice,’ James said eventually, sounding pained enough that the dread Albus was feeling multiplied. He went on before Albus could reply. ‘Talk to Scorpius. Before he goes home, that is.’

Baffled, Albus frowned. ‘Sorry, what?’ Immediately after speaking, he realised what James meant, and sucked in a sharp breath, his heartbeat quickening.

‘What do you mean?’ Albus said, trying to keep his voice steady, but knowing full well he wasn’t even convincing himself. ‘I’ve been talking to him all week,’ he added in a weak attempt at humour.

James rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.’ He fixed Albus with an annoyed glare worthy of their mother. _It really runs in the family,_ Albus noted to himself, somewhat hysterically. ‘Cut the crap, Albus. I _know_ you have a thing for Scorpius.’

Albus felt the colour drain from his face. ‘What?’

_He really does know._

_…How on earth does he know?_

‘Come on,’ James said incredulously. ‘ _Everyone_ knows.’

‘ _Everyone?_ ’ Albus whispered. He slumped back into the beanbag, wanting it to swallow him whole.

‘Yep. Mum, Dad, Lil, Ted…’ James reeled off, counting on his fingers for emphasis. He folded his arms triumphantly, but bit his lip, clearly put off by Albus’s distress.

‘What’s the problem? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.’

‘I’m not embarrassed about it,’ Albus snapped, some colour returning to his cheeks. ‘I just need some time to process it. I feel like I’ve only just figured it out myself.’ He sank even further into the beanbag. He’d already had this conversation with his father earlier that day. This wasn’t nearly as awkward, but he still felt uncomfortable talking to his brother about his feelings—particularly the brother who he was certain would tease him mercilessly about this.

James sighed, and sat down on the bed, facing Albus. ‘Don’t you think some part of you has always known? I mean, the rest of Hog—I mean, the rest of your family realised years before you did. Why have you only just caught up?’

Albus snorted. ‘I’m not the quickest on the uptake, I’ll admit that. I don’t know. I suppose I always found it a bit strange that everyone around me was saying how much they fancied so-and-so, or “ooh, doesn’t Ainsley have the most amazing hair?”, or “I’m going to ask out Rose again, because third time lucky, right?”’ He laughed, hugging his arms to himself somewhat protectively. ‘And I always thought it was weird that I never felt like I was missing out.’

‘Why not?’ James asked, looking as excited as if he were on the edge of a breakthrough. When Albus didn’t immediately reply, he gestured enthusiastically with his hand for him to carry on.

‘Because of Scorpius,’ Albus said eventually in a small voice. ‘I never felt like I needed anyone else.’

‘And _why_?’

Albus flushed. ‘You can figure the rest out. I’m not going to spoon-feed you my feelings. Let’s just say that I think a part of me always knew.’

He found himself laughing as James put on an exaggerated look of disgust.

‘You promise you won’t tell Scorpius?’ Albus said, worried. ‘I—I still need to figure out what to say.’

James looked hurt. ‘Seriously? Why on earth would I say anything now when I could’ve just smashed your heads together at any given time over the last year?’ He rubbed his arm. ‘And I know I’ve teased you about your friendship with him before, but I’d never do anything like that. He’s too important to you.’

Albus felt his eyes prickling. ‘That’s why I’m so scared I’ll mess this up.’ Before he could stop himself, he was crying messily into his shirt sleeve, all of the emotions from the last week brimming over.

James leapt up from the bed, initially looking panicked, glancing around the room as if searching for help. Then he knelt down in front of Albus, carefully grabbing his arm and pulling it away from his face.

‘Al,’ he said gently. ‘Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have each other?’

‘Yes.’ Albus sniffed, disgruntled. _Stating the obvious there, James._ ‘That’s what I’m saying. I can’t screw up our friendship. He means too much to me.’

‘What makes you think you’ll screw it up?’ James’s voice was incredulous, but still gentle. Albus felt like he was five years old again, crying to James in his room after a parent had told him off for breaking something, or eating too many sweets.

Albus gave a small smile, wiping his nose on his sleeve. ‘He makes me so happy,’ he whispered, half to himself. ‘But I never know if that’s enough for him. If I’m enough.’ He trailed off dejectedly.

‘You don’t think you’re good enough for him?’ James asked sadly. ‘Al, he adores you. Anyone with eyes can see that. You’re constantly hugging and holding hands and looking at each other with stupidly gooey eyes, and quite frankly, it’s sickeningly cute. And you _both_ make each other happy. Isn’t that enough?’

‘I don’t know,’ Albus mumbled, his bottom lip wobbling again. ‘I feel like I don’t know anything. I don’t know what to say, or what to do, or how on earth I’d cope if I freaked him out and ruined our friendship.’

‘Albus.’ James spoke sternly now. ‘What are the things you love about Scorpius the most?’

Slightly shocked that James didn’t flinch away from the L-word, Albus sniffed and cleared his throat, and began to reel off a list. He didn’t even have to think twice.

‘His nerdiness. His enthusiasm for literally everything. His optimism. How he always remembers the little things. His crazily unruly mop of hair. How affectionate he is. His kindness. How I can trust him with anything. He—’

‘Okay, I’m going to stop you there,’ James interrupted. ‘Only wanted a few things, not warm memoirs,’ he said, feigning disgust, but smiling despite himself. ‘Right. Now tell me: based on that description of what you know about Scorpius, does he seem like the sort of person to freak out and cast your friendship aside on a whim?’

Albus didn’t answer, but James knew he’d hit home.

‘Exactly,’ James said finally. ‘So, knowing this, what’s to stop you?’

‘Aside from the crippling fear of rejection?’ Albus said sarcastically. ‘Nothing.’

James grinned, clapping Albus on the shoulder. ‘And he’s back! As much as you are a pain in the arse, it’s annoying how much I can’t stand to see you upset.’

Albus chuckled. ‘That’s the closest I’ve seen you get to expressing genuine brotherly affection in a long time. I’ll take it.’ He sighed. ‘You’re right. There’s nothing stopping me except for myself.’

At this admission, James looked incredibly pleased with himself. Albus scowled. ‘I hate it when you’re right.’

Grinning, James offered him a hand up; accepting it, Albus let James tug him up off the beanbag.

‘Thanks,’ Albus said, shooting James a grateful smile. As he got up, however, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. ‘God!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m a mess!’ He wiped his eyes once more, and slapped his cheeks anxiously, willing them to stop looking so red and blotchy. ‘I’m going to soak my face in a bowl of ice for several hours, and then go and get ready.’

‘Yeah, I’d definitely recommend it,’ James said, peering over Albus’s shoulder into the mirror, then pushing his brother out of the way. ‘I’ve got to finish helping Ted with the table in a min,’ he said, running his fingers through his hair. ‘While you sort yourself out, I fully expect you to be composing your heartfelt speech to Scorpius. He’s leaving tomorrow, after all.’

Albus paused in the doorway, looking doubtful. ‘I’ve got to focus on my apology speech to Rose first. We’re supposed to be reconciling our differences—ideally, I need another few years to figure out what to say.’

James exhaled through his teeth, reaching for his hair gel. ‘I haven’t got any advice to offer you there. Good luck.’

‘I’ll need it,’ Albus said in a pained voice. He admittedly felt significantly less panicked about the Scorpius situation, but fresh nerves were now settling in his stomach at the mention of his cousin. Already trying to work out what on earth he was going to say, he made to leave the room.

‘Wait, Albus?’

Albus stopped in his tracks. ‘Yeah?’

‘How was Dad earlier? Y’know, when you told him about the Scorpius thing?’

Albus shrugged. ‘Surprised, initially. But he seemed pretty chilled about it. I guess that’s because he already knew.’

James smirked, slicking a hand through his hair. ‘Don’t count on it. Let’s just say he was a bit slow on the uptake as well. Like father like son. He got there in the end.’

This came as something of a relief to Albus. _At least I managed to dictate how that went._ Now it was just a question of figuring out who else outside his immediate family knew.

‘I was only wondering,’ James said, cutting off Albus’s thoughts. ‘In terms of, you know.’

‘In terms of what?’

James crossed his arms and shuffled a foot on the carpet. ‘Coming out.’

Albus blinked. ‘Oh, yeah. Wow. To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me that I’d done that. Or that I will be doing it. Either or.’

James looked astounded. ‘How could it not occur to you?’

Albus shrugged calmly. He had honestly never even thought about it before; as much as he’d felt it was odd he’d never found himself attracted to anyone, it had meant he’d never really considered his sexuality, in a way. He’d always thought certain people were attractive, but more in an appreciative way than a romantic one. As far as his future was concerned, Albus had always assumed that at some point, he’d meet someone and settle down and get married, and that would be it. He’d never felt particularly enthused by the idea in regards to it happening with people he knew from school, but nor had he felt restricted. He’d just assumed that was the way it was going to be one day, and settled for it being a distant plan that he didn’t have to worry about.

Even seeing other people in relationships in school hadn’t made him picture himself in a similar scenario. No one had even questioned him for not expressing romantic interest, aside from his dad occasionally being nosy about it when he first started school. Albus never got any sense of the obsession with romance and relationships that people in TV shows and books seemed to experience in school—everyone in Albus’s year seemed very relaxed about everything, and no one ever pried. Was Hogwarts different to other schools? Or had people just grown out of it all? Albus didn’t know, but perhaps that was why he was so relaxed about everything: because he’d never had any expectations forced on him. That is, beyond everyone expecting him to be a clone of Harry Potter.

It was only now he knew how he felt about Scorpius that he realised he should start thinking about this sort of stuff. _Or should I?_ he thought to himself. It had only ever been Scorpius he’d felt this way about. And perhaps it only ever would be; it was all a lot to consider, and he didn’t know how to articulate it: he felt like he still needed time to come to terms with everything.

The only clear, concrete thing he knew, or that he visualised about his future, was that wherever he was, whatever he was doing, Scorpius would never be far away.

With the certainty he now felt, he knew that somehow he must have been biding his time, waiting for this realisation. Now, his future seemed like it had opened up in front of him, and it was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating—at the same time, he’d never felt more sure about anything.

‘I don’t really know if I even _am_ gay. Or bi. Or… anything. I just know that I have a massive-ass crush on Scorpius. Besides,’ Albus continued in an amused voice, the confessional nature of their conversation keeping him talking. ‘I was more concerned with how Dad might take me liking the son of his age-old rival, to be honest, especially after he tried to keep us apart last year. I think while talking to him I just lumped all my anxieties about it into one embarrassing, slightly confused confession.’

James sat down on his bed defeatedly, his pursed lips betraying his anger. ‘I don’t get how you can be so chilled about this. How has this not been eating you up alive?’

Albus made to reply, his initial instinct telling him that James was hurt he hadn’t told him. But as he paced back across the room to address James properly, he realised James’s eyes were glistening with tears.

‘James?’

James leaned over and put his head in his hands, his elbows supported on his knees. He laughed bitterly as he saw how badly his hands were shaking. ‘See? I don’t know how you did it. I’m coming out as bi to you, my stupid, oblivious brother, and I’m shaking like a leaf.’

Albus didn’t know what to say. Overcome with emotion for James, he sat down next to him and pulled him into a tentative hug.

This took James off guard. ‘Blimey,’ he croaked. ‘Scorp’s positive influence on you is no joke. You’ll be hugging Dad at this rate.’

‘ _Can it_ , James,’ Albus muttered, drawing away and folding his arms in his lap. They were silent for a moment, bar James’s muffled sniffling.

‘Thank you for telling me,’ Albus said quietly. ‘That can’t have been easy.’

‘That? That was nothing. Ted already knows, but he guessed that for himself, so I don’t really count it. I always thought I’d tell you, Mum and Lil first, but coming out to Dad? I reckoned that would be so much worse.’ James laughed bitterly. ‘But you breezed through it like it was _nothing_.’

It didn’t surprise Albus that Teddy had guessed, as he spent more time with James than anybody in or outside of the family. He felt a tug of guilt that he hadn’t realised James had been suffering in silence for any length of time, but knew full well he’d been wrapped-up in his own problems for so long that he wouldn’t have noticed even if James had stood outside his window waving a blue-, purple- and pink-striped flag around.

‘James, you know Dad would support you no matter what. You’re his golden child—the pride of the Potter family. You can literally do no wrong in his eyes. How could being bi possibly change any of that?’

James shook his head. ‘None of that matters. It doesn’t even matter that there are other men and women in our family who are bi too. I know how it can go. Someone can be totally accepting of everything—love is love, I support everyone, etc. But the second their own child comes out? It can all flip, just like that.’ James clicked his fingers shakily. The click echoed around the otherwise silent room. ‘Because heaven forbid your child do things differently to you. Heaven _forbid_ your son love another man.’ James lowered his head into his hands. ‘It just scares me so much—the idea of that happening.’

Albus let out a long sigh. ‘Trust me, I know what it’s like to feel like you’re going against everything your parents know, and everything they think they know about you. I’m sorry you ever felt like that. But Dad would never, _ever_ want to get in the way of your happiness.’

‘Isn’t that exactly what he did to you, though?’ James swallowed, as if he were afraid to continue. ‘And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he tell you he wished you weren’t his son?’

Albus stiffened. He knew he would never defend what his father said about him, and nor would Harry expect him to. But now Albus understood why he did it, he could at least begin to forgive his father for it. ‘Yes. He did.’ He gulped. ‘And I don’t think a day goes by when he doesn’t regret it. Despite what he said, I’ve realised he only said it because he thought I was unhappy, and I wasn’t letting him help. He didn’t realise that he was the one who was making me miserable. And he’s been trying to make up for it ever since.’ Albus was indescribably grateful that he’d already talked this through with Scorpius; he didn’t think he’d have been able to articulate how he felt, otherwise.

‘It was the least he could do to accept me liking Scorpius as more than a friend—but I don’t think he even had to give it a second thought.’ Albus thought it spoke volumes for both his upbringing—and wizarding society as a whole, in fact—that he hadn’t contemplated coming out to his family as being an issue. As far as he was concerned, he had never known his family to treat aunts and uncles, family friends, and people in school differently because of who they loved. To Albus the concept of anyone doing so was completely foreign and nonsensical; the idea that James could feel afraid showed that a lot could change in a few years.

Albus lifted his head to assess James’s expression. ‘All Dad seemed concerned about at the time was whether or not _I_ was okay.’

James still didn’t meet his eyes, but Albus noticed his shoulders visibly relax. ‘Really?’

‘ _Yes_. And as you know about my conversation with him earlier, I’m assuming you talked to him about it.’

‘Yeah. He brought it up—he was actually the one who asked me to talk to you.’

‘Okay. How did he seem then?’

James sighed. ‘He was peeved off that he hadn’t figured it out sooner.’

‘Point proven,’ Albus concluded, pushing aside his surprise. Part of him still couldn’t believe that everyone else knew, even before he was aware himself. ‘You don’t need to be afraid to tell him. I’m not saying you have to tell him now,’ he added hastily. ‘Do it in your own time, of course.’

James smiled. ‘Thanks. I think I’d rather get it over and done with, to be honest, but I’ll figure it out.’ He exhaled slowly. ‘You, on the other hand,’ he said, sounding a bit brighter, ‘have a deadline to meet.’

Albus was silent. A pit opened up in his stomach again as his nerves resurfaced. Surprisingly, however, despite all the talk of the fear of coming out, he still didn’t feel too afraid of confessing this to Scorpius. Perhaps a year or two ago, he might not have felt the same. But after a brief, minute flicker of doubt, he realised he’d been through enough with Scorpius in the last year to know that he could be completely honest with him, and that Scorpius wouldn’t think differently—or worse—of him. He was overcome with a sense of gratitude—regardless of whether or not he had feelings for Scorpius, Albus knew his best friend would support him without question. After seeing how James had been feeling, Albus was intensely thankful he could trust Scorpius so entirely. Not everyone was so lucky.

Despite this, he couldn’t help his heartbeat quickening at the idea of broaching the topic with Scorpius. _How am I going to introduce the topic? Do I open with a ‘Hey, Scorp old pal. Just to let you that there’s a strong chance I’m gay, as, whoops, I’ve just realised I’ve fallen in love with you. And I only worked that out recently, but I’m ninety-percent certain I’ve actually felt this way since the day we met. I’ve just been a bit thick. Thoughts?’_

Albus grimaced to himself. ‘I’ll work on that. You okay?’ he added, worried.

James waved him off. ‘Fine. Much better, in fact, after talking to you.’

Albus let out a disgruntled huff. ‘Don’t sound so surprised.’

Smiling, James spoke sincerely. ‘Really, though. I didn’t expect to come out to you like this, but hey. I guess no matter how much you plan, it never ends up going exactly how you intended. Thanks for not making it more difficult for me.’

‘Any time.’

James sat upright, stretching his arms out in front of him. ‘Man, Scorpius is more than welcome to stay for as long as he likes if you’re always this amicable when he’s around.’ Albus scowled at him, but relaxed when James smiled playfully, knowing he wasn’t being serious. James seemed more like his normal self now, bar the puffy eyes, and Albus could feel the relief radiating from him.

‘I expect a status report by 8pm. If not, I’m taking evasive action,’ James said matter-of-factly, jumping off the bed and turning back to his reflection in the mirror.

‘Don’t you dare,’ Albus hissed, pointing a finger at him warningly. He dived out of the room before James could make any more horrifying promises, his wicked laughter following Albus down the hallway.

James’s interference was the last thing he needed—especially if he got Teddy and Lily on his side. Despite this, Albus couldn’t help smiling to himself, relieved that James was feeling better. He’d never felt more protective of his brother, which only reminded him of how much closer he felt to his family than in this week. Before now, he couldn’t have imagined James confiding in him about anything so important.

It seemed both he and everyone else was right: Scorpius really did make him want to be a better version of himself.


	5. lost and hopeful, all at once

After splashing some cold water on his face in the bathroom, Albus returned to his bedroom to find Scorpius standing frowning in the centre of the room, surrounded by a sea of coat hangers and shirts, belonging to both him an Albus. Despairing, Albus helped him pick out a shirt— _‘You always overthink it. If in doubt, just go for green. You know it suits you.’—_ and they quickly changed and began the arduous yet familiar routine of taming Scorpius’s hair. Several combs and what felt like half a bottle of Lily’s hairspray later—Albus advised Scorpius to steer clear of any naked flames—over half an hour had passed. As per usual, the Granger-Weasleys had arrived bang on time, and Albus could already hear them milling around in the kitchen.

Albus was reluctant to go downstairs, likening going down to see his relatives—who were all desperate to catch up with him—to descending into a pit of dragons. He felt significantly more confident with Scorpius by his side, but still decided to wait until everyone had gone outside before they made their entrance. And judging by how long Scorpius had been standing in front of the floor-length mirror in Albus’s room, it’d be a while yet.

‘Do you think I should wear a tie?’ Scorpius fretted. ‘How smartly is everyone dressed?’

‘You don’t need to wear a tie, Scorpius. Bit too formal for a small family party.’

‘I want to make a good impression.’

‘I think all the good impressions tonight are going to be made through what you say.’

‘That’s very little comfort to me. Have you _heard_ me making small talk? What about this black one?’

‘Scorpius. You don’t need a tie. You already look great.’

Scorpius sighed, turning away from the mirror with several ties still flung over his shoulder. ‘You sure? I blame school uniform. I feel lost without a tie to anxiously twirl around my fingers.’

‘You’ll be _fine_ ,’ Albus reassured him. ‘You’ll recognise more people than you think. I sometimes forget how big the Weasley clan is, and then I remember that whatever room I’m in at school, there’s usually a head of ginger hair bobbing around out of the corner of my eye.’

Scorpius smiled, but didn’t look completely convinced. ‘Yeah. And I guess most of them know who I am already.’

Albus frowned. ‘I don’t actually know how much of my family knows about the whole time-turner thing. I’ve no clue who Mum and Dad told about us two, nor do I have any idea about what they said. Probably only what everyone else knows: that the villain was caught. Chances are there’ll be rumours floating around, so we’ll just have to play it cool and not give too much away.’

‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Scorpius said weakly. He carefully rested the ties on the end of Albus’s bed, and it was only then that Albus noticed that his hands were trembling.

‘What is it?’ Concerned, Albus stepped over, resting a hand on Scorpius’s back.

Scorpius’s head was bowed, and he was now gripping the end of Albus’s bed so tightly that his knuckles were white. ‘The rumours about my… lineage. I know most people know about Delphi, but the rumours about me never really stopped.’ They both visibly winced at the mention of Delphi. ‘As you know,’ Scorpius added. ‘I just—meeting new people gives me reason to be nervous. Mostly because they’ve made assumptions about me before they’ve even met me.’

Albus nodded grimly, rubbing Scorpius’s back comfortingly. ‘I get where you’re coming from,’ he said understandingly.

It was a sensitive area for Scorpius, but was one that he had always been very open about. While there were some things they had still struggled to talk to each other about back then, it was such a part of their daily lives that it was unavoidable; Albus instantly felt guilty that he’d practically forgotten about this in their excitement. He had comforted Scorpius to take his mind off it more times than he could count: when Scorpius was heckled in the corridors, when new students went silent when he walked past or entered a room, or even when his property was vandalised.

While the recent news of Delphi’s capture had calmed the rumours and accusations, some of the more close-minded students at Hogwarts had taken it upon themselves to make sure Scorpius knew that he wasn’t off the hook. The vandalisms and accusations weren’t nearly as bad as they used to be, but Albus and Scorpius were still wary. There were only so many times Albus could cough loudly or talk over whispers he heard in the Hogwarts corridors, or flick his wand to repair singe-marks spelling out obscenities on Scorpius’s belongings while Scorpius wasn’t in the room.

‘But I don’t think anybody here tonight believes it for a second,’ Albus continued. ‘For one thing, half of my family work at the Ministry, and probably heard about everything that happened first-hand from Hermione and Dad. So there’s no way they’d think it now. And another thing: I don’t think anyone here is the sort of person to act on stupid, unrealistic rumours.’ _At least not any more,_ Albus thought, but didn’t add, his mind going to Rose in first year and his father last year. He knew full well Rose didn’t think that any more, if her new friendship with Scorpius was anything to go by. And he’d seen his dad’s change of heart in the space of a few moments earlier this week.

Scorpius breathed out shakily, relaxing into Albus’s arm, and made a small sound of agreement.

Thinking more about Rose and his father, Albus added: ‘And even if they did think it in the past, they only need to talk to you for a second to realise it’s not true.’ He lowered his voice to a murmur. ‘There’s not a bone in your body that isn’t kind, Scorpius.’

Scorpius loosened his grip on the end of the bed. ‘You always know just what to say,’ he said in a small voice. ‘And don’t think I’m not excited for this, because I am—I can’t wait to meet basically your whole family.’ He smiled, much more convincingly than before. ‘Sorry if I’m overreacting. I can’t help getting a tad nervous. It’s instinctive at this point. It’s the exact same feeling as starting the first lesson of a new subject in school.’

‘Don’t apologise; you’re not overreacting.’ It was a perfectly justifiable reaction. Albus only prayed these rumours wouldn’t leave Scorpius on-edge and nervous for the rest of his life—it was so out of Scorpius’s control. _It’s all so unfair on him._

‘It’ll be fine,’ Albus said comfortingly, reluctantly pulling his hand from Scorpius’s back. ‘This isn’t school; this is my family. They’re a pretty mad, loud bunch, but none of them are as cruel as those idiots at school. Those who haven’t met you already will be so excited to meet you—I promise.’

Scorpius looked much calmer, and shot Albus a grateful smile over his shoulder.

‘The worst you’ll get from everyone tonight is incessant questions about your career plans. If in doubt, just tell everyone you want to be a professional quidditch player. They can’t knock it, because our family’s full of them.’

Scorpius smirked, looking pleasantly surprised. ‘That’s actually encouraging. That can be my go-to for the evening. Especially as I have practically no idea what I want to do with my life.’

‘Well, hey. You’re not the only one.’ _Besides spend it with you_ , Albus added silently, giving his head the tiniest shake to get the thought out of his mind. _Focus_.

They exchanged mischievous grins, and high-fived—gingerly, though, so as to avoid hurting Scorpius’s injured elbow.

Albus glanced up at the clock on his wall, which had turned a faded yellowish-blue to match the summery sky outdoors. ‘We better head down now. There’s only so much extra time Mum will allow me to have before dragging me over to join in. She would've done so by now if you weren't here.’

Scorpius laughed. ‘We better not keep your doting relatives waiting any longer.’ He went to run a hand through his hair, but stopped himself just in time. Tutting, Albus grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his head.

‘Don’t even think about it.’

‘Whoops,’ Scorpius said, rather guiltily. ‘Almost forgot how much effort went into sculpting this.’ He squeezed Albus’s hand, and glanced up at him, opening his mouth slightly as if he wanted to say something. Albus looked at him searchingly, but Scorpius seemed to decide against it. Before Albus could ask if he was sure he was okay, Scorpius put his other hand over Albus’s, and tugged him towards the door.

‘Okay,’ Scorpius said, now sounding excited. ‘Extended Weasley family, here we come!’

‘I was going to go for a quiet entrance, but I feel like that’s not going to happen.’

‘Pff! Boring. Whether I like it or not, I’m prone to dramatic entrances.’ Scorpius turned back to Albus as they reached the top of the stairs and shrugged. ‘I’ve chosen to embrace it.’

Not for the first time, Albus was overcome with affection for Scorpius and his resilience. A fresh wave of fear washed over him at the idea of telling Scorpius about how he felt, and he found himself placing a hand against the wall to brace himself. Scorpius stopped in his tracks, already a couple of stairs down. ‘Alright?’

Albus nodded, giving what he hoped was a convincing smile. ‘Yep. Just bracing for the impending social interaction.’

Still holding onto Albus’s hand, Scorpius gave him an encouraging tug. ‘Come on,’ he said cheerily. ‘You know you’re fine once you’re out there. Let’s go dive in.’

 _Good advice_ , Albus mused as he trailed after Scorpius down the stairs, his eyes falling on their clasped hands hanging between them. _I should probably take it_.

From the stairs, the hum of lively conversation had been perceptible. Now they were downstairs, Albus could begin to pick voices apart from the buzz. There was muggle music playing on speakers both indoors and outdoors, and the kitchen bustled with activity. Albus pulled on Scorpius’s hand, gesturing towards the dining room.

‘Come on. We’ll go outside through the dining room end and avoid getting caught in the kitchen.’

The residual heat of the day was fading, but a warm breeze met Albus when he pushed the French windows open, the temperature comfortable enough for them to be out without jackets. Floating fairy lights were twinkling in the branches of the hedges and trees lining the edges of the garden. Down the patio steps, a large wooden table was placed in the centre of the lawn; the entire table was crammed with food, and people were crowded around, helping themselves to hefty portions. Some people dipped spoons into the bowls of pasta and salad, while others flicked their wands at plates of barbecued meat, sending food and plates flying overhead. As they crossed the patio, Albus had to duck to avoid a rogue hovering chicken drumstick.

Most of the younger family members were either gathered under the trees or were crowded onto picnic blankets on the other side of the garden, while the parents converged on the table of food. Most of the adults, as usual, were insisting on helping Harry and Ginny with the food. On more than one occasion, Molly Weasley had been ushered out of the kitchen during a party, everyone insisting she should stop helping and go and enjoy herself—today was bound to be no different.

Albus and Scorpius squeezed past Hugo and Louis, who were perched on the patio steps comparing chocolate frog trading cards. Albus paused suddenly as he caught sight of his grandma being shooed out of the kitchen to their right, as per tradition, by Ginny and Fleur. 

‘You’ve brought enough food to feed a small army,’ Fleur said, crossly. ‘Now go out and eat it.’

‘We’ll take it from here,’ Ginny added crisply, brightening up when she noticed Albus and Scorpius hovering outside, waving at them happily. Molly Weasley scowled for a moment, holding her hands up in defeat as she trotted across the paving stones in the direction of the table. She almost did a double take when she passed Albus and Scorpius; when she came to her senses, she let out a squeal of happiness and engulfed Albus in a crushing hug. He knew there was no use protesting—he exchanged a defeated smile with Scorpius over Molly’s shoulder.

‘My lovely Albus. Let me look at you. Have you grown since I last saw you?’ Molly held him at arm’s length, and leaned back to inspect his height. ‘Hmm, not quite. Not to worry. I’m sure you’re due a growth spurt soon, dear.’ She gave his cheek an encouraging pat. ‘Your mum told me you’re top of your class in Muggle Studies! Oh, you should’ve seen Arthur’s face when he read her letter. Reckons you’ve got it from him, he does,’ she said, beaming happily.

Albus nodded, smiling. He recalled his grandfather’s fascination with everyday muggle objects that had spawned a successful career in muggle artefact misuse. ‘How is grandad?’

‘Oh, Albus. Always so considerate,’ Molly said warmly, clutching Albus’s arm affectionately. ‘He’s in good spirits—his back is still giving him grief. I blame that on the hours he spends hunched over in his workshop, tinkering with—oh, what were they?’ she muttered to herself, clicking her fingers to spark her memory. ‘You know. Those toasters and macrowaves.’

‘Microwaves,’ Albus corrected kindly, not missing a beat. It wasn’t the first time.

‘Yes, yes, that’s it. I never quite worked out what they did. Mind you, I don’t think he did, either.’ Molly chuckled. ‘Ah well. And oh, here’s your Scorpius! I almost didn’t see you there, lovely—I’m getting so caught up in seeing everyone. You always were as quiet as a mouse when you were tiny.’ She wrapped him into a hug. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m very well, thank you,’ Scorpius squeaked politely, looking delighted while Albus tried and failed to hide a splutter of laughter behind him. _Scorpius? Quiet?_

As Molly pulled away from the hug and took Scorpius by his shoulders, Scorpius looked momentarily confused. ‘Hang on. Did you know me when I was younger?’

‘Of course!’ Molly tittered, waving it off. ‘I popped round to see your mother and father a few times after you were born. Your mother was very weak for a while, so I used to look after you occasionally when you were young to take a load off your parents’ shoulders. But oh, I’d never seen two happier parents.’ Her eyes glistened. ‘And who can blame them? You were such a sweet little thing,’ she cooed, pinching Scorpius’s cheek gently.

Scorpius was stunned. ‘I never knew.’

Molly scoffed. ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter. I tried to get in touch with Draco a few times over the years, but I didn’t want to force him. I’m sure Albus has told you about my knack for adopting waifs and strays.’ She winked at her grandson. ‘I always thought Draco looked in need of a good meal. Naturally I got in touch with your him after he finished school, and invited him around for dinner occasionally while the rest of the family were out at work. That invitation has stood for the last twenty-three years, and still stands today,’ she said firmly. ‘Even if that means I send the dinner to him.’

Scorpius looked thoughtful for a moment, then appeared to have a revelation. ‘ _You’re_ the reason we have so much lasagne in our freezer!’

‘Oh, the cheeky whatsit.’ Molly scowled. ‘He knows they don’t cook as well from frozen. You tell him so when you get home—I’ll have to make a fresh one.’

Someone called for Molly from the opposite end of the garden, interrupting the conversation; she waved to them over Albus’s shoulder.

‘Oh, sorry dears, I better go see how Ron’s doing.’ She tutted loudly, narrowing her eyes. ‘He’s got far too much food on his plate.’ Her eyes widened. ‘You boys haven’t had anything to eat yet! Come on, over here, over here.’

Waving her wand frenetically, Molly sent food flying out of practically every bowl and platter, and heaped two plates with far more food than there looked to be on Ron’s plate. ‘And don’t be afraid to have more,’ Molly fretted. ‘No use in starving for the sake of politeness. There’s plenty to go around.’ She kissed them both on the cheek, and with a wave, pottered across the grass to rebuke her son. Everyone nearby exchanged amused glances as her cry of ‘ _Ronald_ , you do _not_ need twelve sausages!’ carried across the garden.

Left standing with plates of food piled so high that their arms were almost aching, Albus and Scorpius exchanged a glance.

‘…So, that was my grandma.’

Scorpius beamed, his eyes lighting up. ‘She’s _fantastic_ ,’ he said, helping himself to a piece of bread from his plate.

‘And there was me joking about her adopting you as one of her own,’ Albus said. ‘Little did I know she’d already accosted your dad and force-fed him lasagne.’

Scorpius swallowed his mouthful of bread, then scratched the side of his face, bewildered. ‘Well, put that down as my shock of the day. I’ll need to sit Dad down and interrogate him about my childhood. _Again_.’ He shuddered. ‘That’s a job for when I get back home.’

Albus flinched internally. There it was again. _When I get back home_.

Scorpius winced, on the same wavelength. ‘I know. It sounds just as dreadful when I say it as when Molly did.’ He looked at Albus helplessly. ‘I don’t want to leave—it feels like I only just got here!’

Albus sighed. ‘You’re telling me. But let’s not think about that now,’ he said quickly. ‘We’ve got the whole evening ahead of us.’ He grabbed a fork from the table behind him and stabbed a piece of salad on his plate.

Grinning, Scorpius grabbed some cutlery, and clinked it against Albus’s fork. ‘Here’s to the last supper.’ He shovelled pasta onto his fork with enthusiasm.

Trying to ignore how crestfallen he felt at the reminder of Scorpius’s looming departure, Albus focused instead on his surroundings, casting his eye over the groups of people in the garden. In the last few minutes, the sun had begun to set, turning the cloudless sky into a smooth gradient of blues and purples; the fairy lights were glowing brighter accordingly.

‘Okay, Scorpius, before I lose your focus entirely, and before it gets too dark to see anything, let me just point out who everyone is.’

Suddenly attentive, Scorpius lowered the forkful of penne pasta.

‘So, starting from the left, we’ve got my aunt Angelina, uncle—okay, how about we just assume that pretty much every adult is an aunt or an uncle?’

‘Got it.’

‘So Angelina and Bill,’ Albus said, pointing to the left of the patio, ‘are over there. Just to the right is Fred. You obviously know his dad, George—though I have no idea where he’s wandered off to. We just passed Hugo, Rose’s brother, on the patio, sitting with Louis. Louis’ siblings are over… there,’ he gestured to a group of people sitting on a blanket underneath one of the trees in the centre of the garden. ‘And that’s Victoire and Dominique there behind them.’

‘Ah! Victoire is Teddy’s girlfriend, right?’

‘Correct. And it looks like Roxanne is just joining them. She’s Fred’s sister. You keeping up alright?’

Scorpius’s brow was furrowed in concentration. ‘Think so. Though the fact that I recognise most of them from school is helping a lot.’

‘Excellent. Okay, so by the table of food we have Teddy, Andromeda—his grandma—with Audrey and Hermione.’

‘Who’s Audrey?’

‘Molly and Lucy’s mother—she used to be married to Percy. Molly and Lucy alternate living with her and their father. They came with her tonight, but they’ll probably go back with Percy at the end of the evening, as he lives nearby.’

‘Gotcha.’

Albus looked over his shoulder to glance into the kitchen. ‘I think most people are ferrying food around still. That probably includes Percy—he always insists on helping out. Ron’s in the kitchen with Mum and Dad, and you saw Fleur just now shooing Molly out into the garden.’

‘Got it. Who’s that man by the table holding that weird fork-spoon thing?’

‘Oh, that’s my grandad, Arthur. He’s always captivated by the salad tongs. He spends at least five minutes testing them out on every single dish.’

True enough, Arthur Weasley was now attempting to use the salad tongs to lift grains of rice from one of the bowls, muttering _‘Fascinating’_ to himself in awe every time he succeeded.

Now aiming his pointed finger to the opposite side of the table, Albus continued. ‘Oliver is over there helping himself to food. And it looks like Molly and Lucy are on that tartan picnic blanket in the middle of the garden.’

‘Oh, I can see Rose!’ Scorpius broke in, jabbing his fork in front of him to point to the group sitting on the blanket. The pasta flew off his fork, and, dismayed, Scorpius bent down to inspect the damage, while Albus peered in the direction he’d pointed. Squinting against the brightness of the sunset, Albus could make out two figures sitting with Molly and Lucy: Rose and Lily. They were about twenty feet away, but Albus could see that Rose was craning her neck over her cousins’ heads as if deliberately trying to catch their attention.

Albus dodged to avoid getting whacked in the face with a fork as Scorpius stretched a hand up to wave enthusiastically at Rose, beaming. Responding to his frantic waving, Rose lifted a hand and beckoned them over.

‘Rose! Hi, Rose!’ Scorpius called, overpowering any reluctance Albus was feeling and grabbing him by his sleeve, practically hauling him across the garden. As Scorpius steered him towards his cousins, Albus noticed that Lily, Molly and Lucy had now paused their conversation to glance in their direction.

Albus felt a rush of dread, feeling like he was back in school, avoiding Rose’s gaze in the corridors, and had to remind himself that this was for the best. _Besides, Scorpius is probably feeling more nervous than you right now, and he’s hiding it amazingly._ Almost unnervingly well, actually—there was only a detectable edge to Scorpius’s enthusiasm. In social scenarios, Albus observed over the years that Scorpius tended to channel his nerves into excited, rambling conversation that came across as confident to anyone who didn’t know better. Albus had always admired and envied his skill with equal measure, being the sort of person who very obviously retreated into himself when he was uncomfortable. Right now, Scorpius's skill was a godsend. He seemed completely at ease, and Albus was grateful, because it made up for how stilted his own nerves were going to make him.

‘Hi guys,’ Albus said as they neared the edge of the group. He gestured to the girl sitting across from Rose with bobbed curly ginger hair, and then to her sister, who could have passed for Lily’s twin—with her uncannily similar oval face and smattering of freckles across her cheekbones—were it not for the fact that her auburn hair was even curlier than her sister’s. ‘Molly, Lucy, you know Scorpius?’

‘Hi!’ Scorpius said cheerily, settling down on the rug next to Rose, tugging Albus’s sleeve to encourage him to do the same. ‘Yeah, I think I recognise you from school.’

Lucy waved in greeting, and Molly grinned.

‘Yeah. Malfoy, right?’ Molly said, cocking her head to one side. Her voice was relaxed, and she smiled warmly as she spoke to Scorpius, as if she were attempting to put him at ease. ‘It’s good to actually meet you properly. I feel like I already know you, based on what I’ve heard from Albus and Rose.’

Rose snorted with laughter, joining the conversation. ‘I don’t think that’s the first time you’ll be hearing that tonight, Scorp.’

Scorpius turned from Molly to Rose and back again, grinning. ‘Good to meet you too.’

Molly tucked a stray curl of hair behind her ear. ‘Rose tells me you’re trying out for Slytherin quidditch next year.’

‘Yeah, I am! I don’t really know which position I’d want to play, to be honest. I’d just be happy to be on the team.’

‘Have you played much before?’ Lucy chipped in.

‘Not really, no,’ Scorpius admitted. ‘I haven’t been on a broom properly since I was tiny, and it shows. Albus was putting me through my paces earlier today, and my catching skills leave much to be desired.’

Albus resisted mentioning that the same could be said for his ability to stay on the broom.

Molly looked thoughtful. ‘We’ve got some hoops at the back of our garden if you ever want to come over and train with us. We’ve got plenty of equipment too, though I’m sure Albus has got plenty of Ginny’s stuff you could borrow.’

Scorpius’s face lit up. ‘Really?’ He exchanged a delighted glance with Albus, who smiled somewhat smugly with an ‘I told you so’ look.

Molly shrugged. ‘Sure. Besides, Oliver would be delighted to train a potential future quidditch prodigy.’ She exchanged an amused look with Lucy.

‘Yeah,’ Lucy said slowly. ‘Our step-dad can be pretty intense about quidditch. Just to warn you.’

‘Understatement of the century,’ Rose muttered under her breath to Scorpius.

‘In a good way,’ Molly said reassuringly. ‘Just send an owl our way before the end of summer and we can all organise something. We’ll have you at the helm of the Slytherin team before the end of next year.’

Scorpius looked truly touched. ‘That’d be fantastic! Thank you.’

Molly waved a hand dismissively. ‘You’re basically part of the family. It’s nothing.’

‘A few people have said to me this week.’ Scorpius smiled, looking pleasantly surprised at the compliment.

Lily looked panicked all of a sudden, and leaned over to whisper something in Lucy’s ear. Lucy jerked her head away, shocked. ‘Wait, _seriously?_ _Still_?’ she exclaimed, looking bewildered, her eyes darting in Albus’s direction. Lily shushed her frantically, and pointedly stared at Rose.

Albus watched this exchange with an uncomfortable inkling as to what they were talking about, and busied himself with finishing off his plate of food. Scorpius looked vaguely confused, but Rose took the hint from Lucy and turned to Scorpius. ‘So, Scorp. Good week? You and Albus haven’t got tired of each other yet?’ she said, swiftly changing the subject.

Albus had been raising a forkful of food to his mouth, but the food was knocked out of his grip as Scorpius nudged him with an elbow a bit too vigorously, immediately distracted. ‘Not a chance! Albus had planned an action-packed week, and it did not disappoint.’

‘What’ve you guys been up to?’ Lucy asked curiously, pushing her finished plate of food to one side and surreptitiously picking a chip from her sister’s plate. Molly batted her hand away with what sounded like a hiss, sending the chip flying.

Scorpius inhaled and looked set to launch into an enthusiastic long-winded narrative, and in good humour, Albus braced himself. If Lucy and Molly wanted to get to know Scorpius, this was the perfect way.

‘Albus,’ Rose said suddenly, standing up abruptly. ‘Can we talk for a second?’

_Yep, there it is._

Roused out of his thoughts, Albus put down his plate awkwardly; he felt Scorpius’s eyes on him, but avoided making eye contact, willing him to continue his conversation. ‘Back in a bit,’ he said, standing up with some effort. He raised a hand to wave briefly at Molly and Lucy. ‘Catch up in a few?’ he directed at them, smiling sheepishly.

They gave answering smiles, and Scorpius waved. ‘I need to talk to you in a minute, too,’ Rose said meaningfully, pointing at Scorpius, who nodded cheerfully. Albus felt a familiar skip in his heartbeat at the familiarity between them, but whatever jealously Albus felt was quickly dispelled as he caught Scorpius looking at him with a look of disguised reassurance. Albus held his gaze for a brief moment, and the corner of his mouth flickered upwards in a grateful smile, trying to convey what he was thinking: _I’ll be fine_. He didn’t notice Lily watching them with raised eyebrows, and exchanging what could only be described as a knowing look with Rose.

Albus followed Rose as she led him purposefully to the end of the garden to a quieter spot; Albus almost had to jog to keep up, uncomfortably reminded of how unfit he was. _Bloody quidditch players,_ Albus thought, reminded uncomfortably of the ceaseless energy of Oliver Wood in his attempts to turn the family into a quidditch team worthy of the Premier League. _There’s no doubt that Scorpius has enough energy for it, at least._

Rose finally came to a standstill, stopping beside the shed at the very bottom of the garden. Albus paused awkwardly in front of her. Before he could speak, he heard—from the other end of the garden—Scorpius exclaim something indiscernible out loud. Albus fought back a smile, and Rose raised an eyebrow.

‘Either Scorpius has only just figured out Molly’s one of the Gryffindor beaters, or he’s really enjoyed this week,’ Rose commented, sounding amused.

Albus spluttered with laughter, and Rose joined in—and if Albus wasn’t mistaken, she looked relieved.

‘So,’ Rose said abruptly. ‘Your letter. You want to talk things through?’

Albus gulped. ‘Cutting straight to the chase, then?’ _As ever._

Rose folded her arms. ‘I don’t see why not. Scorpius said you wanted to apologise.’

Part of Albus still wondered exactly what had been said, but he pushed aside his curiosity. ‘Did he, now?’ A rhetorical question—Rose was still looking at him expectantly, an eyebrow raised. ‘Well, he’s right,’ he said, defeatedly. Now growing tired of hiding how he was feeling, he spoke his next words quickly, eager to get at least one weight off his shoulders.

‘I’ve put this off for a while, I admit. I’ve been pretty unfair to you. You tried to fix our friendship, but I was—okay, I’m not ashamed to say it. I bore a grudge. Ever since you treated Scorpius badly. Along with everyone else, mind. I know you weren’t one of the people heckling him in the hallways, or vandalising his stuff. It was just so horrible for him,’ Albus said quietly. ‘It was hard not to see anyone as an enemy—as someone who might hurt him. I never forgot how you tried to persuade me not to sit with him in first year, so I could never get it out of my head that you were against him. That you were against our friendship.’

Rose had been watching him with a guarded expression while he vented. Albus felt a twinge of panic—he hadn’t been this open with Rose for years, and he hated how alien it felt. She was quiet for a moment longer before finally speaking.

‘You know I regret what I said back then,’ Rose said, a hint of crispness in her voice. ‘And that I tried to dictate who you were friends with. I told you as much when I tried to talk to you last time. However,’ she added quickly, holding up a hand to prevent Albus from interjecting, ‘I appreciate how you must have felt.’ She pursed her lips. ‘I saw you as vulnerable, too. I just wanted to protect you.’

‘From _Scorpius_?’

‘From the people who assumed the worst of him!’ she exclaimed, her exasperation obvious. Albus wondered how long this had been pent up. ‘I knew nothing about Scorpius except from what I knew about his family and his father’s reputation, and the unfortunate rumours surrounding his… parentage. It was enough to convince me that people would inevitably treat him badly, and that they would do the same to you. In first year, I just had an image of you being hurt and isolated too, and I wanted to keep you away from it. You’re my _family_ , Albus. However misguided my intentions were, it was the beginning of one of the most important times of our lives, and I was terrified.’

This last statement would have come across as a shock to Albus a while ago, but lately he was realising he wasn’t the only one with insecurities, all the while painfully aware of the selfishness he was overcoming. This prevented him from retorting back how hurt and isolated _he’d_ felt from his whole family. That wasn’t Rose’s fault.

Albus nodded slowly. ‘To be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed about how I acted towards you. I was rejecting everyone back then, convincing myself that I _was_ alone. But I’m not alone now. I mean, I won’t deny I had problems with Dad, but that’s no reason to take it out on you. So much happened last year, y’know? It’s put a lot into perspective.’

Rose was nodding along with him now. ‘I’m hardly surprised,’ she said, bemused. ‘I mean, you basically erased me from existence.’

She grinned villainously as Albus attempted to shush her with a panicked expression, and they both cracked up laughing when he realised she was teasing.

‘Yeah. Still very, very sorry about that,’ Albus said, wincing.

Rose shrugged. ‘Hey. It’s all in the past. Or… well. The alternate future?’

‘Merlin only knows. Anyway, I’m sorry. For everything.’

Rose hesitated. ‘Me too. Though I still don’t know why you didn’t come and talk to me sooner, especially after everything that happened to you and Scorpius. Did it really require Scorpius’s persuasion to get you to actually speak to me?’ She tightened her grip on her folded arms, and Albus felt a stab of guilt as he realised how hurt she must’ve been—and obviously still felt. They had been so close, once.

‘You know me, Rose,’ Albus said dejectedly. ‘I can be hideously petty. And awkward. It took me a while to realise how I was in the wrong.’

Rose sniffed. ‘You weren’t _entirely_ in the wrong. You just said so. I basically abandoned you.’

‘In a way. But you also did what you were destined to do at Hogwarts: excel at literally everything. It was the opposite of what I was destined to do.’

‘Really? So you don’t think you’ve excelled in Slytherin? I mean, sure, you’re not the best at actual magic.’

Albus blinked, and was on the verge of making a sarcastic retort before Rose began reeling off a list.

‘You’re top of the class in Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, easily. You’re ridiculously intelligent—I mean,’ she said, lowering her voice to a hissed whisper, ‘you managed to break into the _goddamn_ _Ministry of Magic_ , which is possibly the most secure institution in the UK after Gringotts. And do I even need to mention the resounding success that was befriending Scorpius? Yeah. If we’re ignoring the family problems, and the fact that you nearly resurrected the Dark Lord, I personally don’t think you’ve done too badly for yourself.’

Albus was lost for words. He couldn’t deny anything she’d just said; and from Rose’s smug expression, she knew it.

‘You’re completely useless sometimes, Albus.’

They fell silent, both looking at their feet awkwardly.

‘I guess I was scared,’ Albus said eventually. ‘We were so close before Hogwarts, so not getting along with you hurt a lot. Regardless of how angry I was, the idea of talking to you was terrifying, because I didn’t want to contemplate what would happen if it went wrong.’ He fell silent, shuffling his foot on the grass.

Then, rolling her eyes, Rose sighed loudly, and stepped over and put her arms around Albus.

He hugged her back. ‘I’ve missed you too.’

They embraced for a moment longer, before Rose pulled away and held Albus by the shoulders at arm’s length. She looked relieved, and he was certain he looked equally so. And with that, he knew they were back to normal, like no time had passed. _That was a wonderful thing about family,_ Albus mused: _no matter how much they drove you crazy, and how much you fought and disagreed, they knew you the best, and could tell when you were being sincere._

‘So, aside from having the love of your life come to stay, how have your holidays been?’

Albus felt his cheeks burning. _She knows me the best, alright._ ‘They’ve been alright,’ he said, ignoring the teasing former part of her sentence. ‘I haven’t done very much until this week. Mostly just relaxed and read books.’

Rose looked amused, and dropped her arms from his shoulders. ‘I thought as much. Let me guess – you wished away the holidays until Scorpius arrived?’

‘Well—’

‘I know for a fact that Scorpius did the exact same thing,’ Rose interrupted. ‘He told me so himself,’

Albus scowled. ‘I may have missed you, but I did not miss that stupid, smug look of yours.’

True enough, Rose’s face was the picture of know-it-all smugness. ‘What can I say?’ she said, grinning. ‘I’m my mother’s daughter.’ She frowned. ‘Did you know Scorpius was writing to me?’

Uncomfortable, Albus shifted. ‘Yes.’

‘Did he tell you what he said in them?’ Rose’s face adopted a peculiar expression.

‘No.’ Albus shook his head definitively. ‘Whatever you’re writing, it’s none of my business.’

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Rose smiled. ‘The beauty of invisible ink, right?’ She winked exaggeratedly.

Albus narrowed his eyes. _Is she mocking me?_ He nearly laughed out loud. _Stupid question. She’s always mocking me._

She rolled her eyes at him as if to rebuke to his silent question. ‘I’ve just been giving him advice. No need to get jealous.’

‘I wasn’t,’ Albus grumbled.

‘What, you’ve never been jealous of me and Scorpius?’

‘ _No_ ,’ Albus said, his voice edged with annoyance, trying not to rise to the bait. ‘I was only frustrated with him fawning over you all the time because I wasn’t talking to you.’

Rose raised a single eyebrow. ‘You sure that’s the only reason?’

They stared each other out for a few seconds, Albus’s panic levels rising. Rose was disquietingly perceptive; for all she could tease him harmlessly about Scorpius, he knew if he kept on talking, she’d figure out what he really thought, and that wasn’t a conversation he knew how to have with her. Fortunately, Rose really did know Albus well. Sensing his discomfort, she didn’t expect to get a response. Despite looking completely unconvinced, she digressed.

‘He just wanted advice about quidditch and stuff. He asks a lot of questions, does Scorpius,’ she said in a somewhat exhausted voice.

‘Seriously? He’s usually the one with all the answers. Quidditch must’ve been quite an enigma to him.’

Rose opened her mouth as if to say something, then seemed to decide against it. ‘That among other things,’ she said breezily. She nodded her head back in the direction of the picnic blanket. ‘Fun though this is, you may want to go rescue Scorpius from Molly and Lucy before they get sucked into a vortex of quidditch talk.’

Albus squinted over to the picnic blanket where Scorpius was still sitting; he seemed to be re-enacting something with zeal, and Lucy, sitting next to him, appeared to be listening intently and laughing along with his dramatic gestures.

Observing this, Rose looked contemplative. ‘Or Molly and Lucy from Scorpius, depending on how you look at it.’

‘I think he’s alright,’ Albus said, scratching his head. ‘I better go and say hi to everyone anyway.’

‘Don’t sound so resigned,’ Rose said disapprovingly. ‘You’re sixteen years old, Albus. I shouldn’t need to drag you around by the ear to greet your family… any more.’

‘Hey, I never said I didn’t want to,’ Albus rebuked. ‘I’m perfectly capable of talking to people by myself.’

They carried on bickering as they meandered back up the garden, Albus feeling somewhat lightheaded. He almost couldn’t comprehend the conversation he and Rose had just had; nor could he believe the relief he felt at the idea that the two of them were no longer at odds. Well, they’d always be slightly at odds, but that was more down to the good-natured rivalry that had always existed between them.

A few paces later, they passed their aunt Angelina, who cried out happily when she saw the two of them. She pulled them in for hugs in turn, almost sending her own bowl of food flying, and demanded updates on every aspect of their lives.

Spotting Albus talking to Angelina, Bill and George descended on the trio from nearby, exchanging their own greetings and expressing joy at seeing their niece and nephew again. While Rose waxed lyrical about her academic exploits, Albus exchanged a knowing look with George, silently willing him to not bring up anything about the Pygmy Puff incident at any point during the evening.

Chancing a look back at Scorpius, Albus saw that Roxanne and Dominique had migrated over to the group on the picnic blanket; as Albus watched, they took it in turns to shake Scorpius’s hand, and all burst out laughing at something one of them said. Scorpius seemed completely at ease, so Albus didn’t feel too guilty for abandoning him to his family. Relieved, Albus turned back to his aunts and uncles, trying incredibly hard not to snort with laughter for a good chunk of the conversation when his uncle produced a tissue and mimed blowing his nose loudly every few minutes.

* * *

The next hour or so passed in a blur of hugs, catch-ups, and relatives quizzing Albus about his education, career aspirations, hobbies, and everything in between. The sun had now almost completely set, and the lilac hue of twilight was beginning to fade, leaving an unusually starry sky appearing on the opposite horizon. Taking a moment to appreciate his surroundings, Albus felt inordinately grateful for the summer weather; it had only seemed to add to the perfection of the last few days. Everything currently seemed suspended in an unusual bubble of warmth and contentment, one that was somehow unique to summer evenings. The more Albus was aware of this, the more he felt an innate sense of detachment from the present, and an odd nostalgia for what was happening before it was even over. As far as Albus was concerned, that was part of the bittersweet beauty of summer: you were constantly aware it had to come to an end at some point, and that any warm, carefree evening could be the last before the season began to shift. But that somehow made you relish it even more.

The same could definitely be said for how he felt about Scorpius’s stay.

‘You’re looking thoughtful.’

A plate of various desserts appeared in front of Albus, breaking him out of his daydream. His heart leapt.

‘You didn’t get a chance to get any, so I hung onto this for you,’ Scorpius said. Without having to turn around, Albus could picture his sheepish smile. ‘I wouldn’t let your cousins near it, which was harder than you think. They were like gannets.’

‘Thanks,’ Albus murmured, taking the plate. And this time, when he felt his fingers brush against Scorpius’s, he didn’t flinch at the flicker of energy where they touched. He felt an unusual sort of bravery—not quite confidence in how he felt, but some form of acceptance. He wasn’t about to act on his feelings, but he didn’t exactly want to shy away from them either.

George appeared behind them with two small glasses of Firewhisky just as Albus was tucking into the massive slice of cheesecake on his plate. _That time of the evening again,_ Albus thought, surprisingly less grudging than he usually was when the alcohol was produced. ‘Gone back for seconds, Albus? I don’t blame you. The food’s delicious. I, on the other hand, don’t think I can eat another bite.’ He patted his stomach contentedly. ‘I just ate my body weight in Mum’s casserole—it really is the most _incredible_ comfort food. We always reckoned she laced it with something, as it made us sleepy for hours afterwards.’

Molly, who was now trying to covertly sneak another bowl of pavlova onto the still-overflowing buffet table, overheard her son’s blaspheming and scowled. ‘Nonsense,’ she said crisply. ‘You just ate until you were completely comatose. You still do.’

George shrugged. ‘Always slept like a baby afterwards. Pretty sure that was her intention. Best food naps we ever had.’ He took a large gulp from one of the glasses, then shoved them at Albus and Scorpius, who took them eagerly. ‘You’ll probably sleep well after downing these as well. Go easy, kids.’

Albus and Scorpius exchanged enthused glances as George hopped back over to the kitchen, where Harry and Ginny looked to be pouring drinks for everyone on the counter. Lily and James were dashing back and forth from the back door with full glasses, ensuring everyone—bar their younger cousins—had a drink of some sort.

‘Should we go and help?’

‘I think they’ve got it covered,’ Albus said, watching James stagger over to Teddy and Victoire with enough Firewhisky to quench the thirst of a small army. Curiosity getting the better of him, Albus watched them for another moment to analyse their body language, and noticed Teddy was standing a few feet apart from Victoire, and seemed to be pointedly avoiding making eye contact with her. Victoire also seemed a little too eager to receive the Firewhisky from James, practically grabbing it from him and drinking immediately.

Distracting him, Scorpius raised his glass to chink it against Albus’s. ‘Cheers!’

They sipped from their glasses in a comfortable silence, both wincing at the taste of the Firewhisky, and gazed around them, soaking up the evening atmosphere. Sneaking a look at Scorpius, Albus noted somewhat cornily with a tug in his chest how the fairy lights reflecting in Scorpius’s eyes and the fading twilight lighting illuminating his skin with a warm orange light combined to give him an almost ethereal appearance. His white-blonde hair also seemed to be tinted yellowy-orange; miraculously, thanks to their efforts earlier, the hairspray was still holding his hair in place. Instead of the usual unruly, pale waves, usually present when he first woke up in the morning, his hair was now neatly parted slightly off-centre, and was deftly slicked back off his forehead. In his panic earlier Albus hadn’t taken it in properly, but right now, Scorpius had never looked more attractive. It was enough to leave him nearly breathless for an instant, thankfully sufficiently enough to prevent him from breaking the silence and impulsively blurting out something along the lines of _‘You look amazing’_.

Not for the first time, he wished it were just the two of them; he’d had so many moments over the last few days alone with Scorpius, but now he felt he’d taken them for granted. Everything seemed so overwhelming now: the conversations they’d had over the last few days, the perfectness of every moment they’d spent together, and the impending deadline of the week ending, which now left him with a dwindling amount of time to tell him how he felt. Not to mention how much Albus was overcome with a spontaneous, reckless urge to throw caution to the wind and just goddamn kiss Scorpius already.

His eyes flickered accordingly to Scorpius’s lips, but realised with a surge of embarrassment immediately after doing so that Scorpius had registered his gaze, and was looking at him searchingly.

The corner of Scorpius’s mouth twitched upwards. ‘What?’

‘Nothing,’ Albus said, a little too hastily in an attempt to sound relaxed. Out of nervous instinct, he took a massive gulp from his glass of Firewhisky. He instantly regretted it. The spiced bitterness of the drink burned the back of his throat and the roof of his mouth, and by the time he’d managed to swallow the drink and let out a choked splutter, his eyes were streaming.

Scorpius patted him on the back gingerly. ‘Please don’t die.’

Albus wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, then dabbed at his eyes. ‘Oh, Merlin,’ he wheezed. ‘I forgot how nasty this stuff was.’

Scorpius sniffed his own glass with a look of trepidation. ‘Yeah, I keep thinking it’s going to get easier to drink every time I try it, but each time I’m sorely mistaken. I don’t think I can manage more than a polite sip every hour or so.’

‘All those in favour of ditching these and grabbing some butterbeer?’

‘Aye.’

They skirted over to the table to put their glasses and Albus’s plate down, then stepped over to the edge of the garden, out of the way of everyone still trying to get to the table.

‘Blimey. I can’t believe we managed half a bottle between us at that common room party last year. I can barely manage half a mouthful.’

Scorpius scoffed. ‘If I recall correctly, you had a _whole flagon’s_ worth. And I personally find Firewhisky a lot easier to drink when I’m nervous. Which is a disaster waiting to happen, really,’ he added in an amused voice.

Albus let out a small laugh, praying it wasn’t blindingly obvious that that was exactly what had fuelled his own drink-downing. He was glad they’d decided not to drink any more. After a gulp alone, his chest felt warmer; any more, and he might have started to feel light-headed. Scorpius’s constitution meant he couldn’t have so much as a sip of anything stronger than beer without practically keeling over, and Albus knew he wasn’t much better himself.

‘Not that I would recommend making a habit of it, but you were hilarious,’ Scorpius continued, smiling teasingly.

Albus’s cheeks flushed. _Now I’m_ definitely _glad I didn’t have any more_. ‘I hope to Merlin my tolerance improves before I turn seventeen, or I’ll be a mess every time we set foot into the Hog’s Head.’

‘You’re not that bad,’ Scorpius said, nudging him gently on the arm. ‘You mostly just got loud and affectionate.’

Albus wasn’t convinced that was a good thing, especially as the small amount of Firewhisky had slackened his judgement just enough that he was starting to feel like being honest with Scorpius was suddenly not such a bad idea. Thankfully, he knew he hadn’t had nearly enough to drink for this feeling to last very long.

And fortunately for Albus, his parents chose that exact moment to approach them with glasses of butterbeers in hand.

‘I hope George didn’t pour you two glasses of Firewhisky as large as everyone else’s,’ Ginny said, passing them a glass each, looking slightly concerned.

Albus took his gratefully, immediately sipping from the glass in an attempt to wash away every bit of the Firewhisky’s lingering effects. ‘Nah, they were fine. I think butterbeer is actually worse for Scorpius than alcohol, to be honest.’

Scorpius lifted his glass in response, grinning mischievously.

Ginny smirked. ‘I know what you mean. Lily was the same—the sugar would make her hyperactive after so much as a sip. I almost dread to think how she’ll handle alcohol.’

Albus suppressed a shudder. ‘Lily and alcohol? That’s too bizarre to imagine. In my head, Lily’s still about ten.’ He dipped his glass in Scorpius’s direction, addressing him. ‘It’s a universally accepted rule that younger siblings are not allowed to grow up. It doesn’t help that she’s only getting bossier with age.’

Ginny pouted. ‘She’s not the only one who’s not allowed to grow up. Harry?’ she called suddenly over Albus’s shoulder.

Harry appeared dutifully at her side almost instantly, and wrapped an arm affectionately around her waist. ‘Mm?’

‘Our children need to stop growing up,’ Ginny said, almost sulkily.

‘You’re telling me,’ Harry said in a pained voice, kissing her quickly on the top of her head. Sighing contentedly, Ginny leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder, hugging his waist.

Albus knew his parents were affectionate at the best of times, but nevertheless, he found himself wondering how large their glasses of Firewhisky had been.

Ginny seemed to read his mind. ‘Oh shush, Albus, we haven’t had that much to drink. We’ve just been enjoying the evening. You two had a good time tonight?’ she said, directing the question more to Scorpius. ‘I hope everyone’s behaved themselves, Scorpius. They’re quite a lively bunch of people.’

Scorpius shook his head, waiting to finish his sip of butterbeer before he spoke. ‘Everyone’s been lovely. Molly and Lucy have offered to train me for quidditch, Bill and Fleur have invited Dad and I to use their cottage for a beach getaway whenever we feel like it, and I found out that Mrs Weasley has been secretly feeding me my whole life.’

Ginny and Harry spluttered with laughter. ‘I expected no less,’ Harry said, amused. Albus just smiled proudly at Scorpius, hoping this had dispelled any of Scorpius’s reservations about his family.

Turning back to his parents, he noticed Ginny watching him with a soft expression on her face.

‘You two look so handsome tonight. Here, let me grab a picture before it gets completely dark.’

She broke out of her husband’s grip and picked up the camera that Albus suddenly noticed was hanging on a cord around her neck. _How many photos has she sneakily taken of everyone tonight?_

Ginny positioned her finger on the shutter, peering into the lens, and motioned for Albus and Scorpius to move closer together. She didn’t have to ask twice.

Almost without hesitation, Scorpius slid an arm around Albus’s waist, drawing him closer to his side. The gesture took Albus by surprise—so much so that he nearly spilled his glass of butterbeer. His heart was already pounding at their proximity, and he had to remind himself that this was a relatively normal level of closeness for them. Silently praying he wasn’t red in the face, Albus put his free arm around Scorpius’s back and held his shoulder, and smiled obligingly at the camera. As the shutter clicked and the flash temporarily blinded him, Albus reassured himself he could blame any flush in his cheeks on the Firewhisky, even though he’d barely had enough to warm his stomach.

‘That’s lovely,’ Ginny said, pressing the shutter again, the camera flashing blindingly once more. ‘You both look so happy.’

Neither of them responded, but Albus could sense Scorpius’s smile. As Ginny and Harry cooed over the photos, Albus became hyper-aware of Scorpius’s hand still resting on his waist; he almost didn’t dare move.

‘Here. I’ve taken a lot in the last few days,’ Ginny said, confirming Albus’s suspicions. She held the camera out to them. ‘Have a flick through.’

She held out the camera, and Albus grabbed for it almost greedily. To his disappointment, Scorpius removed his hand from Albus’s waist and reached out to grab the other side of the camera, quickly downing another sip of butterbeer as he did so.

‘Thank you,’ Scorpius said happily. ‘I don’t have nearly enough photos at home, so I imagine I’ll be using a lot of these.’

‘No problem.’ Ginny smiled brightly, leaning back into Harry’s hold once more. As Albus and Scorpius moved to the edge of the garden to pore through the photos, Ginny and Harry called out to Ron and Hermione, who were heading back from the table with more food. Watching them greet each other with warm laughter and arms slung naturally around shoulders, Albus noted how happy and relaxed they appeared, and felt a surge of pride that he’d inadvertently arranged the party.

‘Wow, this one is _priceless_ ,’ Scorpius said, cackling, drawing Albus’s attention to a picture taken mere hours after Scorpius’s arrival. Albus covered his mouth with his hand to stifle a guffaw of laughter. From where Ginny had been sitting, she’d managed to capture the moments after Scorpius had spilled the lemonade all over the picnic blanket: Scorpius was pictured frantically mopping the spillage, while Albus laughed, half way to popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

They continued laughing as a faint shadow fell over them, darkening the camera screen. Albus squinted upwards, his eyes fighting to adjust to the dimly-lit garden after staring at the screen for so long. It took him a moment to make out Rose’s features, and to take in her crossed arms and severe expression.

‘Scorp. A word?’

‘Wow, “Scorp.” It must be serious,’ Albus joked, itching to nudge Scorpius playfully, but not wanting him to move away.

Scorpius laughed nervously. ‘Good to see you two are on speaking terms now. Won't be long,’ he muttered to Albus, using Albus’s knee as a means of hauling himself off the grass. Hiding his surprise at the sudden contact, Albus let out an exaggerated 'ouch', to which Scorpius responded with a cheeky smile. Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time that evening, Rose promptly walked off in the opposite direction; Albus smiled as Scorpius hastily trotted after her, shooting a guilty look over his shoulder.

Before he even had a chance to turn his attention back to the camera, Albus found his sister blocking his vision.

‘Can I help you?’ he said, grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes in far too similar a fashion to Rose. ‘You're in such a good mood that it's actually kind of disgusting.’ She glanced down at the camera. ‘Can I see the photos?’

Albus shrugged. ‘I’ve barely started looking myself.’

Lily sat down heavily in front of him and took the camera, and began scrolling swiftly through the pictures. She paused to laugh a few times, usually upon finding an unflattering photo of Albus, James, or Teddy, but otherwise she seemed oddly focused.

‘Okay,’ she said eventually, her voice firm. ‘Albus. Tell me what you see in this photo.’

Albus squinted. ‘Our entire family outside in the garden. Probably taken about ten minutes ago.’

‘Okay, good. And where are you in this photo?’

‘Sitting next to Scorpius.’

‘Correct. And?’

Albus stared blankly at the image, uncertain of what she was trying to get out of him.

After a few moments, she sighed dramatically. ‘Are you blind as well as thick?’

‘Lil, if this is your way of saying I need an eye test—'

‘Cut the crap, Al,’ Lily said, thrusting the camera in his face. ‘You're literally gazing at Scorpius as if he's God on earth, and it's disgusting, and you need to do something about it now before I completely lose my mind.’

‘Keep your voice down!' Albus hissed, snatching the camera back. He snuck another glimpse at the photo; true enough, while everyone else's attention was focused on Molly, who was talking at the time, Albus was well and truly distracted, gazing at Scorpius with what could only be described as a moony-eyed expression. He almost disgusted himself.

‘You think you're the only one losing your mind? I've been trying to think about what to say and how to say it for the last few hours, and it's driving me insane!’ He motioned to silence Lily, seeing she was about to interrupt him. ‘And before you give me the whole lecture about how it doesn't matter, that he'll take it well regardless because he's too lovely to do otherwise, and that I've got nothing to lose, I've already had it from James. And Dad. And myself.’ He buried his head in his hands, muffling his voice. ‘I'm going to do it tonight, okay? I… I just don't know when or how.’

Lily was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. ‘Well, if that's the case, then now's as good a time as any.’

‘What, right now?’

‘No, in two days’ time via owl when he's gone home for the summer and you can’t spend every waking moment together. _Yes,_ I mean right now!’

Albus stared at his sister unblinkingly; she refused to break eye contact.

‘What, do you not want him to know?’

‘Of course I bloody want him to know.’

‘Then why are you wasting time? The longer you wait, the longer you're going to be kicking yourself for not saying anything. Come on.’

As she jumped up and hoisted him off the ground, Albus silently cursed his sister's stubbornness and ability to see sense. She was far too much like Ginny in that sense. _There's a chance I'll be thanking her later,_ he thought to himself grudgingly. _Her and James._ He wasn't sure how comfortable he felt going in without a prepared speech, but he'd had enough emotional pep talks from his family to last a lifetime; if they didn't help, then nothing would. Maybe winging it was for the best. _Especially with my tendency to overthink things._

Thrusting the camera back in her direction, he shooed Lily away, and strode over to Scorpius and Rose purposefully. They looked to be deep in conversation, so Albus slowed his pace and meandered over, not wanting to interrupt or eavesdrop, instead hoping to hover nonchalantly in the background. That way, if Scorpius spotted him, he'd come straight over when he'd finished talking to Rose. The music had briefly stopped, and Albus briefly registered his dad next to the speakers with his laptop, obviously updating the playlist. With the sudden quiet that had fallen over the garden, the sounds of everyone's conversations blended into a pleasant hum of background noise. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Scorpius—as standard—gesturing frantically, and struggled to contain a grin. _Merlin, I—_

‘I’m not going to tell him, damn it!’

Albus stiffened.

‘Indoor voice, Scorpius!’ Rose hissed.

‘Oh, screw it, we’re outdoors!’ Scorpius cried, his arms flailing in the air, clearly having no intention of keeping his voice down. Albus hadn’t seen him this distressed since the time he’d overslept by five minutes and nearly been late to being early for Potions class. Albus had made the mistake of assuring Scorpius it wasn’t a big deal, and had been on the receiving end of Scorpius’s hysteria as he’d ran around wailing that someone else was going to nab his lucky cauldron.

The rising shrillness in Scorpius’s voice brought Albus back to the present.

‘Although if, like you say, everyone already knows, then why not?’ Scorpius added sarcastically. ‘I’m hardly going to give anyone a nasty shock by yelling it in the garden. I may as well shout it for ALL to hear. Gee, you know what? I bet Albus himself knows too. Guess I’m the only one who isn’t in on the joke.’

‘Shut up, Scorpius,’ Rose snapped in an undertone. ‘This is not some massive conspiracy to make a fool out of you. I just want you to be happy. Telling him is the only logical thing you can do. Remember what we talked about last week?’

‘This is not as easy as you think. Of course I want to tell him! But do you have any idea how hard this will be? This is like throwing a spanner of feelings into the machinery of our friendship that has been running smoothly for years.’

‘That’s a terrible analogy.’

‘I’m clutching at straws, Rose!’

Rose sighed. ‘Think of it this way: would you rather he heard it from you, or from the fifty-odd members of his extended family?’

His brain beginning to put two and two together, Albus stumbled backwards and turned away from Rose and Scorpius, his heart pounding. Now facing the table, he pretended to suddenly be fascinated by the contents of a glass bowl of trifle. Hands shaking as he slowly spooned cream into a bowl, he strained to focus on the sound of their frantic whispering.

‘Look, I know you said I should do it tonight, but every time I see him, I panic and start talking about something else. I’m not risking messing this up by being awkward and nervous.’

Feeling faint, Albus registered his heart beating even more frantically, convinced he was hearing everything wrong. _I’m reading into this too much. He’s not saying what I think she’s saying. There’s no way._

‘It’s not muggle science, Scorpius.’ Rose sounded exasperated. ‘I promise you: this is for the best. I’m sick to the teeth of you moping around because you can’t pluck up the courage to make a move.’ Even though he wasn’t facing her, Albus could picture her pointing a finger accusingly at Scorpius. ‘ _Both of you._ ’

Albus wracked his brains, trying to convince himself he wasn’t just hearing what he wanted to. _She said it was her cousin. Lily? James?_ Neither made sense based on the conversations he’d had with them, but for one gut-wrenching moment, Albus had almost convinced himself that they weren’t talking about him. It was impossible.

‘But I have no way of knowing if he feels the same,’ Scorpius said in a small voice. ‘Not really. He’s my best friend, Rose. I don’t want to mess this up.’

‘But you—’

‘Look, Rose, I told you: I thought I could do it, but I just don’t think I can.’ Scorpius’s voice had a tiredness to it now; one that Albus wasn’t used to hearing.

‘I just—’

‘He means too much to me. I risk losing everything— _everything—_ if he doesn’t take it well. Don’t you get it? I _love_ him. I can’t lose him.’

His heart physically aching, Albus wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. A part of him—a much braver part of him—wanted to hurl caution to the wind, whirl around, and put Scorpius’s fears to rest. But the shock of everything he’d just overheard had rendered him rooted to the spot. He could only stand there and feel the tears prickling in his eyes as he heard Scorpius stride away from Rose. Risking a glance over his shoulder, he watched Scorpius weave through the groups of people and dive through the French windows, the same way they’d come in.

_He feels the same. Merlin, he actually feels the same._

Wiping his eyes furiously, and abandoning the now-full bowl of trifle, he leapt away from the table like it was on fire.

* * *

Watching her cousin sprint after Scorpius, Rose gestured frantically to Lily from the other side of the garden in an attempt to get her attention. Spotting the interaction from the patio, James frowned and grabbed Teddy’s arm, pulling his focus away from his phone.

Teddy sighed, glancing up briefly from his phone. ‘James, not now. I don't know if I should go after her, or—’

‘No, Ted, _look_ ,’ James said hurriedly, pointing to where Rose and Lily’s attention was fixated.

All four of them watched in stunned silence from separate corners of the garden as Albus bolted after Scorpius.

‘Wait, is that—’

‘Yep.’

‘Does that mean—’

‘Yep.’

Teddy nudged James, a grin creeping across his face.

‘Alright, pay up. You owe me three sickles.’

James groaned inwardly, then outwardly as he spotted Rose and Lily coming towards him, their eyes glinting wickedly. ‘I may have to owe you. I’m more scared about what’ll happen if I don’t pay them first.’ Regardless of how much this put him out of pocket, he felt a surge of nerves and pride for his brother.

_Go get him._


	6. we simply are as we are

From the other end of the hallway, dodging desperately around a few people loitering on the tiles with drinks in hand, Albus heard Scorpius thundering up the stairs. This was not like Scorpius at all. And for a moment, Albus forgot all the feelings he’d pent up for the last few days, ignoring the part of his mind that was screaming at him to react to the idea of Scorpius feeling the same way. In spite of what he’d heard—and considering part of him still wasn't convinced he hadn't misheard—he wouldn’t let himself get his hopes up. At this point, Albus’s concern for Scorpius outweighed the panicked hope rising in his chest.

It concerned Albus so much, in fact, that he didn’t even think to disguise his footfall as he leapt up the stairs after Scorpius.

As if in answer to his frantic footsteps, the attic door slammed a floor above him.

Crawling up the last few steps to the attic, considerably out of breath, Albus shoved the door open recklessly, without a clue about what he’d do when he was on the other side.

Stunned at the noise, Scorpius chanced a look over his shoulder as Albus barged in, panting, but hung his head again when he saw who it was. From the dejected look on his face, he didn’t seem surprised, but didn’t exactly look pleased to see Albus either. Holding his arms close to his chest, he faced pointedly away from Albus.

‘Sorry, Albus,’ Scorpius said hoarsely, pulling at the sleeves of his shirt. ‘I’m okay. I just need a moment to myself.’

Biting back a sarcastic retort about how they never gave each other a moment’s peace anyway, Albus wrung his hands awkwardly, then leaned sideways to push the attic door closed. In his panic, he hadn’t even thought about what he was going to say to Scorpius before he’d instinctively bolted after him. Albus figured Scorpius’s inability to go more than a few seconds without speaking would save him from having to think of an opener. Despite this, Scorpius studied him silently for a moment, obviously realising Albus wasn’t going anywhere. Then his eyes widened.

‘How much did you hear?’

‘How much of what?’

‘How much of our conversation did you hear?’

‘I…’ Albus trailed off.

‘I’d guessed as much.’

‘Look, I—’

‘Please—Albus. I know exactly what you heard; I just need a moment to come to terms with it,' Scorpius said, sounding resigned and looking tearful. 'You don’t have to say anything. In fact, I’d much rather it if you didn’t.’

Albus felt like it would hurt less if he stabbed himself with his wand. ‘How long have you known?’

Scorpius sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. ‘I guess we’re beyond the point where I’ve got plausible deniability, so I may as well come out with it.’ He paused for a moment to exhale heavily, then shrugged, as if dismissing the importance of his answer. ‘Two years?’

Albus’s stomach plummeted. _Two years?_

‘Give or take a few months. Or years.’ Scorpius shook his head. ‘You know what? It’s actually hard to put my finger on it. There was definitely a change at some point, but at the same time, I can’t think of a time when I didn’t feel like this.’ He let out a small huff of laughter. ‘I think some part of me has always known, y’know?’

The question was rhetorical, but Albus willed himself to agree out loud. _Yes, I know._ But he could tell Scorpius wasn’t finished.

‘I think I always knew and just never twigged. You hear about love and relationships in books and in films and see it in daily life, then when you meet someone, two and two click together, and suddenly you realise that’s exactly what you want. With them. But they never tell you how _fucking horrible_ it is to feel this way about someone and to not feel able to tell them,’ Scorpius said through gritted teeth, punctuating the last few words with pointed taps on his arm, which he was squeezing so tightly his knuckles were white. Seeming exhausted, he tilted his head back to the ceiling, blinking furiously. ‘It’s typical, really. I made a big deal about you caring about my feelings, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell you in case I ruined everything.’ He laughed bitterly. ‘Talk about hypocritical. I guess some things will never change.’

Albus scrunched his hands up into fists, then rubbed his face furiously. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. But Scorpius didn’t give him a chance to formulate a coherent answer.

‘Because what if I ruined our friendship? What if my feelings weren’t returned? What then? What the _fuck_ would I do then _,_ Albus?’ Scorpius ran a hand forlornly over his head, placing his other hand on his hip as if to steady himself. He looked at Albus properly for the first time, and his face seemed to fall further when he saw the anguish Albus was in. ‘You know what? I can’t. I can’t do this. Please, Albus, just go. I think I’ll just go to bed. I want to forget this happened.’

‘ _No,’_ Albus finally managed, speaking breathlessly into his hands. Squinting through his fingers, he could see Scorpius had tensed his shoulders. He’d never seen—or heard—Scorpius this upset. ‘I don’t want to forget this happened.’

‘Oh, sorry,’ Scorpius cried, his voice cracking. ‘I forgot this is the sort of thing you can’t forget. Not only has your best friend just come out to you, but he’s practically confessed that he’s been secretly in love with you most of the time we've been friends.’

The breath caught in Albus’s chest. He really hadn’t misheard. It was true. _It was true._

Scorpius laughed suddenly, harshly. ‘And guess what? You know the full truth now. Do you know why I was writing to Rose all the time? To ask her for _help_. Because I couldn’t handle feeling this way about you. It hurt _so damn much_ that I couldn’t bring myself to tell you.’

His heart clenching, Albus felt a surge of regret, recalling the pettiness of his jealousy of Scorpius’s correspondence with Rose. Scorpius seemed to register this, and his gaze softened slightly.

‘I hate keeping things from you, Albus—you know that. So Rose has been persuading me for the last few weeks to "bare my soul" and tell you the truth. I hope she’s happy now,’ he drawled, squeezing his eyes shut. ‘Merlin, what am I _doing_?’

Albus took a step forward. ‘Scorpius, please, just—’

‘No, Albus, don’t,’ Scorpius interrupted, turning towards Albus and backing away. ‘Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel able to have a levelled conversation about how we go back to normal from here, but right now, I just don’t have the energy.’

‘I don’t want things to go back to normal,’ Albus said furiously, stepping forwards once again, reaching his hands out towards Scorpius as if to still him. ‘That’s not what I—’

‘Then what? Oh, I’ve really fucked this up, haven’t I?’ Albus flinched, not used to hearing Scorpius swear, especially with such zeal. ‘Okay, you know what? Fair enough. I get that it’s too much to take in. But now do you see why I had to keep it from you?’ Scorpius said, almost pleadingly, as if imploring Albus to believe him. ‘I had all of this,’ he paused to gesture fervently at the space between them, ‘at stake.’

Albus took another tentative step towards Scorpius, biting his lip to prevent himself from spluttering with hysterical laughter. _Oh, I understand all too well._ ‘You’re telling me,’ he muttered.

‘Sorry?’

Albus had had enough. ‘Listen. You think I don’t know how that feels? How terrifying it is to think about putting our friendship on the line?’ He paused, panicked. ‘I… oh Merlin, I don’t know how to put this.’

A look of hurt flashed across Scorpius’s face. ‘Please, Albus. I’ve been beating myself up enough about this; I can’t take it from you too. Not now.’

Albus felt his face fall. ‘I don’t mean—’

‘Please, just leave me alone,’ Scorpius said in a small voice. No longer blinking furiously, his eyes welled up instantly. With one last forlorn look at Albus, he sat down heavily on the end of the bed, and clasped his head in his hands.

Something shifted in Albus’s mind. _That’s it._

Despite every nerve in his body pulsing with fear, Albus—as if on autopilot—closed the gap between him and Scorpius in a couple of strides. He laid a butterfly-soft touch on Scorpius’s shoulder, and Scorpius lifted his head in response; his heart falling at the streaks of tears on Scorpius’s face, Albus instinctively reached over with his thumb to gently wipe away another tear snaking down his cheek. The silence hung in the air, both too afraid to speak and risk breaking the trance. Albus felt suddenly vulnerable, exposed; the fragility of the moment between them, with Scorpius looking up at him with realisation gradually dawning on his face, was overwhelming. It was almost so overwhelming that a miniscule part of Albus wanted to flinch away in panic; at any moment, a line could be crossed, and there’d be no way back. But ultimately this panic was fleeting, and he was overcome instead with an innate need to react.

Albus moved his hand that had been wiping a tear away from Scorpius’s cheek to cup it instead. In an instant, he had closed the gap between their faces, and he pressed his lips gently against Scorpius’s. In that moment, the world seemed to slow down and grind to a halt.

Almost immediately, to Albus’s disappointment, Scorpius pulled away sharply. Dismayed, Albus searched Scorpius’s face for the tell-tale signs of regret and—dare he think it—disgust, beginning to rebuke himself for being so forward.

But Scorpius just looked as if he were about to burst into tears again.

‘Really?’ Scorpius’s voice was barely a whisper. His hand found Albus’s wrist.

Albus nodded furiously, tears prickling behind his own eyelids, and he let out a reassured laugh as Scorpius grinned with the same ecstatic relief that he felt.

Scorpius put a hand on Albus’s face in turn. ‘Oh, thank _Merlin._ ’

Overcome, Albus brought Scorpius’s face to his once more; this time, there was a note of urgency in the kiss, the relief coursing through his veins serving as adrenaline. Scorpius kissed him back with equal fervour, his hands finding their way up Albus’s cheeks and snaking into his hair. Albus let out the tiniest keening sound in response, and wrapped his arms around Scorpius’s neck, and began to run his hands through the tiny curls of hair at the back of his neck. In response, Scorpius all but leapt off the bed and flung his arms around Albus’s neck to pull him closer, deepening the kiss as he did so.

Feeling dizzy with bliss, Albus grinned into the kiss, and pulled away as he felt Scorpius’s smile against his. Both breathing heavily, they gazed at each other, each stroking the other’s face as if in disbelief that they were able to do so.

‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ Scorpius whispered, leaning his forehead against Albus’s, his eyes glistening.

‘Neither,’ Albus managed, wondering if he’d ever be capable of coherent speech again. His eyes fluttered closed. ‘It’s like a dream.’

Scorpius laughed breathlessly. ‘You’re telling me. I’ve been imagining this moment for months, and now it’s actually happening, it doesn’t seem real.’

Albus’s hand found Scorpius’s wrist; he squeezed it comfortingly. ‘It’s real.’

Beaming, Scorpius kissed him once again. Just as he was relaxing into the kiss, he pulled away abruptly, but not sharply.

‘Wait,’ Scorpius said, looking slightly confused. ‘So you like me?’

Albus rolled his eyes in a manner that would’ve made Rose proud. ‘No. I’m just kissing you because I’ve run out of items on our schedule, and have nothing better to do. What do you think?’

The small look of panic that crossed over Scorpius’s face was enough to cause fear to rise in Albus’s chest once more. ‘ _Merlin_ , Scorpius. Everything you described feeling?’ His eyes widened for emphasis, he cupped Scorpius’s face in both hands. ‘That just sums up the last week for me. Granted, I can’t even imagine how you’ve been feeling for the last couple of years, but I’ve felt _awful_ keeping it from you.’

Scorpius shuddered. ‘You don’t want to know. But you know what?’ He lifted his gaze to Albus’s. ‘It was worth every second if it meant this could happen.’

There was a pause before they both groaned comically in unison.

‘Okay, that was officially the cheesiest thing I’ve said all week.’

‘And you’ve come up with some absolute corkers.’

‘But I don’t actually care.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘I’m just so goddamn happy.’

As Albus’s lips found Scorpius’s once more, they relaxed into each other’s holds, hands roaming slowly down bare arms and shirt collars, as if they were discovering each other for the first time, but had all the time in the world to do so. And as far as Albus was concerned, they did.

* * *

Several minutes later, Albus drew away from their kiss slowly, and Scorpius took the pause as an opportunity to catch his breath.

‘So what now?’

Scorpius furrowed his brow in amusement. ‘Now as in immediately? Well, if it’s alright with you, I’d quite fancy it if you stopped talking so I can keep kissing you.’

Albus shook his head, dropping his hands from where they’d been wrapped around Scorpius’s shoulders. He traced a path down Scorpius’s arm thoughtfully, not quite sure how to articulate the thoughts speeding around his head.

‘I mean… what should we tell everyone?’

‘What, now? I’m not saying I’d mind if you wanted to skip downstairs hand-in-hand, burst through the back door and announce to your whole family that we’re an item, because that’d be _hugely_ entertaining.’

Albus’s breath hitched, and it took him a moment to compose himself. _An item? Merlin, save me._

‘I’m fairly certain everyone here tonight already knows I’m not straight, so I don’t mind making a bit of a scene of it for your family’s sake,’ Scorpius added hastily. ‘They all seem very supportive. And if it weren’t obvious from my behaviour around you, and what with Rose knowing and everything—’

‘Delightful though that sounds,’ Albus interjected gently, ‘I was referring more to what we should generally say about us. You know.’ He gestured flippantly between the two of them.

Scorpius watched his hand gesture with a bemused expression. ‘Albus, I think we can safely establish that what we just did has crossed every platonic boundary in the book.’  
  
Exhaling loudly, half in amusement and half in adrenaline-fuelled exasperation, Albus pinched the bridge of his forehead, avoiding making eye contact with Scorpius.

‘Thank you for that observation, Scorpius—I really hadn’t noticed. What I _meant_ , you naïve creature, is what happens to us now? Is this official? Are we a _thing?’_ Albus hated himself a little more with every clichéd term he threw at Scorpius, but he knew this was a conversation that couldn’t be avoided. And it was safe to say that he was done avoiding conversations this week.

‘We can be whatever we want,’ Scorpius said simply. He shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ‘I’m going on the assumption that we both like each other just a teensy bit more than friends, so correct me if I’m wrong here. But I think that we’ve been acting as if we’ve been dating since we first met. And as we’ve established, I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone who knows us will agree.’

He grinned sheepishly at Albus. ‘So, I don’t know about you, but the term ‘boyfriends’ seems more appropriate. Even if it does feel like it’s stating the obvious.’

Returning the grin, Albus took Scorpius’s hands into his own and squeezed them. ‘That sounds like a pretty long-winded way of asking me out.’

‘Well, it’s not like you were going to any time soon.’

‘Um, ouch. In my defence, I’ve only had a week.’

‘And when were you planning on telling me? When I went back home?’

Albus spluttered with laughter. ‘Sorry, let’s back-track here: when were you thinking of telling me you had a raging crush on me? Before or after we left Hogwarts?’

Colour rising in his cheeks, Scorpius shoved Albus good-naturedly on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, if you’d rather wait a few more years, I’m perfectly alright with going back to the party downstairs and rain-checking this relationship.’

Albus caught Scorpius’s arm mid-shove and held his wrist in both hands, using it to gently draw Scorpius closer. He would have been surprised at his sudden confidence with performing such an intimate gesture, but it seemed so natural to him that he barely registered the newness of it, bar his heart fluttering slightly at Scorpius’s use of the term ‘relationship’.

‘I feel like we’ve both waited long enough,’ Albus murmured. And it was his excitement at the novelty of the idea of being in a relationship with Scorpius— _Scorpius—_ that automatically gave him the courage to delicately brush the hair away from his face. He knew the level of intimacy in their friendship was different to most, though this was definitely something that may have crossed a line before. Now there was nothing stopping him. And because he had nothing to hold him back, he definitely had no reservations about leaning in to kiss Scorpius again.

A few minutes had passed—though it didn’t feel like nearly enough time—when they were interrupted by a loud rapping on the attic door.

‘Al?’ James’s voice sounded muffled from the other side of the door. Albus silently thanked his past self for having the foresight to shut the attic door behind him. ‘You may want to… uh. Come downstairs. Mum’s on the warpath, since you randomly disappeared from the party about half an hour ago.’

Exchanging an embarrassed, guilty look with Scorpius, Albus bit back a laugh. ‘Thanks James,’ he said, a little too pointedly and a touch too quickly.

James cleared his throat, and Albus cringed slightly, as if he could sense his brother’s awkward discomfort.

‘Just thought I’d… y’know. Give you a heads-up.’

‘Okay.’

‘Not for any particular reason.’

‘ _Thank you,_ ’ Albus repeated, angling his head the door to make his voice heard.

James made a non-committal noise, and Albus and Scorpius heard his footsteps thumping back down the attic stairs.

Leaning backwards to lie down on the bed, Albus exhaled loudly.

‘I feel like I wasn’t as subtle as I could have been.’  
  
‘Do you mean the part when you left the party unexpectedly, or when you emphatically told your brother to go away when it was fairly obvious we were making out?’

Albus scowled good-naturedly. To his surprise, the gesture seemed unnatural; as long as Scorpius was around, the act of frowning had begun to seem unnecessary.

‘We should go back downstairs,’ Albus said, resigned.

‘We should definitely go back downstairs.’

‘Right now.’

‘Immediately.’

A moment of silence passed as they both made absolutely no effort to move. Scorpius was the first to break into laughter, and Albus followed immediately after.

‘I’ve noticed we have a habit of doing this.’  
  
‘I have no idea what you mean.’

Scorpius peered over his shoulder and shot him a grin. ‘Come on.’ He hauled himself off the bed and held out a hand to help Albus.

Albus accepted his hand, and stood up reluctantly, suddenly nervous. Going back to the party meant telling everyone about him and Scorpius, and he could feel his confidence from earlier beginning to evaporate.

‘I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to reality yet,’ he said, holding tightly onto Scorpius’s hand and resting his chin on his shoulder. In response, Scorpius enveloped him in a hug.

‘Reality doesn’t have to be a bad thing,’ Scorpius said gently. ‘If your family’s behaviour is anything to go by, they’re going to be ecstatic.’

Despite not being entirely convinced, Albus hummed in agreement. ‘I know that everyone already seemed to know about us before I did, but it’s still a step. A big step.’

Scorpius laughed, sounding as nervous as Albus felt. ‘Speaking of big steps, just wait until I tell Dad.’

Albus stiffened, swearing internally. ‘Oh.’

Scorpius huffed in half-hearted laughter. ‘I know, I hadn’t considered it either. I spent enough time last year assuming that coming out would be the cherry on top of a cake of awkward father-son relations. Now I’m not so sure.’

Albus was quiet for a moment, wanting to kick himself for not even considering how Scorpius’s family would react while he’d been mulling over his own problems. _As per. Great job, Albus._

‘How do you think he’ll…’

‘React? Honestly? I have no idea. I think there’s a pretty equal chance of him either being stiff and awkward about it or shrugging and saying he knew along.’

‘Scorp, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t even—’

‘Albus, it’s okay,’ Scorpius soothed, reaching up to stroke his hair. ‘You’ve had enough to worry about this week without worrying about my dad too.’  
  
‘No,’ Albus said furiously. ‘It’s not okay. Not being self-obsessed is exactly what I’m supposed to be getting better at.’

‘Cut yourself some slack. In the last week, you’ve come out to half of your family—and not only that, but they all seemed to know about that part of you before you’d figured it out yourself. And that can’t have been easy. Trust me, I know what it’s like to have people assume things about you.’

Albus managed a laugh. ‘Scorp, having half the wizarding world assume you’re the son of the Dark Lord is a _tad_ more serious than my family wagering I was gay.’

‘Granted. But that doesn’t make it any less tricky when you’re trying to work everything out about yourself.’

Albus pulled out of Scorpius’s grip to look him in the face. ‘Since when did you get so wise?’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘I guess worrying about you makes my brain work a bit faster to come up with practical solutions.’

‘You don’t need to worry about me.’

‘Do you worry about me?’

‘ _Constantly._ ’

‘Then I think we’re about to get even wiser. We really should go back,’ Scorpius added defeatedly.

Albus sighed, and instinctively planted a kiss on Scorpius’s forehead as if it were the most natural gesture in the world _,_ which he rather sappily hoped it would become. ‘You know your suggestion earlier of bursting through the French windows hand-in-hand and surprising everyone?’

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. ‘You mean my completely mad, fairly breathless and adrenaline-fuelled idea?’ 

‘Yes, that one. It needs some work, but it’s not an entirely bad plan.’

And though they didn’t exactly burst through the back door—it was more of a tentative step— and though they weren’t met with the cries of shock and/or horror that Albus had mentally resigned himself to receiving, the smiles, teary-eyes—on Ginny’s part—and congratulations that they received as they made their way through the garden were enough to give Albus the courage to squeeze Scorpius’s hand that little bit tighter.

* * *

‘Albus?’

Startled, Albus looked up as he gathered up the plates on the garden table. He spotted his father at the French windows, leaning somewhat hesitantly through the doorframe, and wringing his hands—a standard sign of discomfort.

Albus exchanged a glance with Scorpius, whose hands were being piled high with plates by Lily as she cleared the other side of the table. Lifting his head above the pile of china, Scorpius attempted an encouraging thumbs-up, glancing in Harry’s direction, but had to quickly return his hand to supporting the precarious pile before it toppled onto the ground. He opted for a smile that verged on a grimace, and Albus bit back a grin.

 _Here we go_.

Harry had already disappeared back into the kitchen, and Albus felt his pace slow as he neared the door; he’d come to dread being randomly summoned by his parents, as it usually led to some sort of lecture—or ‘little chat, nothing serious’, as Ginny always tactfully put it—about his behaviour. He knew this conversation was definitely going to be about his behaviour—namely about Scorpius—but despite expecting a slightly more positive conversation than he was used to, Albus felt uncomfortable regardless.

‘You called?’ Albus braved as he stepped into the kitchen.

His parents were hovering in the middle of the room, Ginny’s arm resting on Harry’s back; both looked over immediately when they spotted Albus, and their faces lit up.

In an instant, Albus was enveloped in a double embrace, and before he could respond, he was surprised to hear his father speak first.

‘We’re so proud of you.’

Albus froze.

Ginny was the next to speak. ‘We’re so glad you’re happy, Albus.’  
  
‘You can tell that Scorpius is over the moon.’

‘Everyone we talked to tonight was so happy for the two of you as well.’

‘I never doubted he’d feel the same.’

‘Mum’s already started planning your wedding. Just to warn you.’

‘I know my parents would have felt the same.’

As their mumbled endearments washed over him, Albus felt a dampness on his cheeks, and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t until he inadvertently let out a muffled whimper that his parents withdrew in concern.

‘Albus?’

Seeing their concerned, happy, proud faces through his blurred vision was the last straw. Albus staggered backwards, reaching out for a chair, sat down with his head in his hands, and began to sob.

Everything—every emotion, every fear, every uncertain feeling Albus had been feeling for the last few days, weeks, and months—everything came crashing down at once. The muddle of feelings towards Scorpius, and the vulnerability he’d felt exposing how he felt. The relief of his feelings being reciprocated. The weight of his father’s disappointment—and Albus’s disappointment in him—and the awkwardness of mending their relationship. The knowledge of how he’d taken out his problems on everyone and everything around him, and how much he’d had to change to bring an end to that; how much he was _still_ having to make changes for the better, every second of every day, and _Merlin_ , it was so, so difficult. But it was paying off. He was managing. What was really hitting home, though, were those few little words; every time he replayed them in his head, he felt another wave of tears and overwhelming emotion:

_‘We’re so proud of you.’_

Spoken by his dad. _My dad. He’s proud of me._

‘Of course I am,’ Harry said incredulously. ‘How could I not be?’

Albus hadn’t realised he’d spoken out loud. He sniffed loudly, and wiped his nose on his shoulder. ‘I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that until just now,’ he said shakily.

Ginny pulled up a chair to sit down next to Albus, and ran a hand soothingly through his hair. ‘Albus, we’ve always been unconditionally proud of you.’

‘Even Dad?’ Albus asked quietly.

‘Especially Dad,’ Harry whispered. ‘I know I have never been easy to get on with, and that we didn’t see eye-to-eye for a while, but please, never, ever think I’m not proud of you.’

Albus blinked up at them, feeling like he was having an elaborate dream, and beamed from ear to ear as his parents embraced him once more.

The dream-like feeling didn’t dissipate as he fumbled his way up the stairs, his hand trailing against the wall as if to support himself. Before he knew it, he was outside the attic door. He paused for the briefest of moments, jerking himself back to reality, only to feel another faint rush of incredulity.

On the other side of the door: Scorpius.

 _Did that really just happen?_ Albus was beginning to wonder if the whole evening hadn’t just been one elaborate hallucination.

The door inched open in front of him, as if in response.

‘I heard someone coming up the stairs, and thought—well, more like optimistically assumed—it was you. Do you, um.... want to come in?’

‘Nah, I climbed all the way up here to admire the craftmanship of this wooden door. _Yes,_ I want to come in,’ Albus said drily, a grin creeping across his face.

Scorpius leapt back from the door like he’d been electrocuted, and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room scratching his head, all the while watching Albus as he swung the door open and stepped into the room.

‘So, um, I was assuming you wanted to stay up here tonight too? I mean, it’s our last night together this week...’

Albus spluttered, his face reddening. ‘Wait, I’m—I’m not sure—’

Scorpius, contrastingly, went white as a sheet. ‘Oh, no,’ he stammered, both hands now anxiously embedded in his hair. ‘I didn’t mean—I’m not implying… anything we’re not ready for. Not yet.’

Albus let out an audible sigh of relief, his heartrate slowing as Scorpius continued gabbling.

‘I only meant that it’d be nice to spend the night… y’know.’ He paused for breath, and regarded Albus through squinted eyes. ‘Cuddling?’ he offered, his voice high-pitched.

Albus laughed loudly, his nerves evaporating as quickly as they’d appeared. He leaned his back against the attic door, pushing it closed behind him. ‘Cuddling? As if we don’t already do that on a nightly basis.’

Now looking more sheepish than he’d ever done, Scorpius took a step towards Albus. ‘True. But we hadn’t kissed until today. So I’m pretty sure that changes things a bit.’

Albus moved forwards too, his heart beginning to race again. He made a mental note to get his blood pressure checked, because he was certain his constantly skyrocketing emotions couldn’t be healthy. _How do people deal with this all the time?_

‘True. That’s a thing we do now.’

They were only inches apart, and Albus placed a tentative hand on Scorpius’s chest, feeling his heart racing in equal measure.

‘Apparently,’ Albus breathed.

Scorpius inhaled sharply at the contact.

‘You okay?’

‘Oh, gosh, yes,’ Scorpius said somewhat breathlessly. ‘I’m just—this is still so new to me. It’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong. I’m just not quite sure what to do with these.’ He waggled his fingers awkwardly.

Albus raised an eyebrow, not convinced. ‘We made out for at least half an hour earlier, and you definitely knew what you were doing then.’ He took one of Scorpius’s hands in his. ‘What do you want to do?’

The corner of Scorpius’s mouth twisted upwards in the beginnings of a smile. Albus half expected him to come out with something Scorpius-esque, like ‘Eat peppered imps and do sudoku together’, but instead, he surprised Albus: ‘Right now, I desperately want to run my hands through your hair.’

Masking his surprise—and heart-hammering delight—Albus let go of Scorpius’s hand. ‘Then do. Do whatever feels right.’

Tentatively, Scorpius reached up to stroke a strand of Albus’s hair from his forehead. Albus inhaled sharply, electricity pulsing through his body, stemming from the gentle contact on his forehead. Then, to his surprise, Scorpius cupped Albus’s cheek in one hand, making stroking motions with his thumb, all the while maintaining eye-contact, seemingly enthralled with Albus.

Albus felt himself blushing. ‘See?’ he whispered.

Scorpius laughed to himself in awe. ‘I didn’t expect this to feel so… natural. Like I’ve been lucky enough to do this the whole time.’

‘I get what you mean,’ Albus managed. He paused, reaching up to stroke Scorpius’s cheek tenderly in turn. ‘I didn’t know I could feel this way about someone.’ Albus knew he’d never felt so strongly about anyone else—that was a given— but he briefly felt a tug on his heart as a thought crossed his mind: _Has Scorpius? Did he feel this way about Rose?_

Scorpius answered his question for him. ‘Me neither.’ And in an unprecedented move of confidence, something seemed to click, and he brought his other hand up to Albus’s cheek and leaned towards him. ‘Fancy learning together?’

In answer, Albus kissed Scorpius like someone who had absolutely nothing to learn, and who had instead been waiting for the right moment.

An hour or so later, Albus opened his eyes briefly, hearing the slow, steady breathing of Scorpius fast asleep. Scorpius’s arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, his face buried into the fabric of Albus’s t-shirt, and Albus had his arms stretched up to embrace his shoulders. Albus planted a feather-soft kiss on Scorpius’s forehead, and as he watched Scorpius’s mouth stretch unconsciously into a sleepy smile, he felt his heart physically ache with happiness. It wasn’t dissimilar to what he’d felt before today when they’d cuddled up for comfort; but this time, it came from a new place of disbelief and gratitude—disbelief that this was real, and unfathomable gratitude that it was. He felt torn between wanting to weep uncontrollably, laugh loudly and incredulously, or just exclaim something poetic in happiness and scream joyously to the heavens.

None of these being appropriate when Scorpius was sleeping, he elected for hugging Scorpius tighter, squeezing his eyes shut, and whispering faintly into the darkness.

‘Thank you,’ he murmured, burying his face in Scorpius’s hair. _‘Thank you.’_


	7. heroic in really quiet ways

‘Morning, you two.’

‘Hi, Mum.’

‘Morning Ginny.’

‘Sleep well?’

 _‘_ Yes, I—oh, Merlin, stop with the raised eyebrows, James _._ ’

‘Albus, have you seen my navy jeans? You’re so short that Dad keeps mistaking my jeans for yours and putting them in your room.’

‘Firstly Lily, no, I haven’t seen your jeans, and secondly, it’s _not_ because I’m short. Dad’s just incompetent.’

‘I heard that.’

‘I don’t think you’re that short.’

‘Scorp, you’re too smitten with my brother to be unbiased.’

‘…He’s got a point.’

‘Dad, where did you put my jeans?’

‘Are you saying I’m short?’

‘Who said that? Can anyone see Albus?’

‘ _Shut it, James_.’

‘I swear, Lily, I haven’t put them anywhere they don’t belong. Are you sure you haven’t just lost them?’

‘Shall we put up posters? Missing: grumpy brown-haired wizard. Answers to “angsty boyfriend of blonde nerd.”’

‘ _James!_ ’

‘Morning everyone!’ Teddy chirped, appearing suddenly in the hallway, seemingly in good spirits. ‘Big day today! Great party last night, by the way, guys. Sorry I couldn’t stay to help clear up. You know, after everything with Vic, I—’

‘Okay, that’s it, everybody _out of the kitchen_.’

With a flick of Ginny’s wand, the French windows were flung open, and breakfast bowls, hairbrushes, newspapers and mugs of hot drinks flew off worktops and out of hands and out of the doors. As everyone chased their floating breakfast outside with frustrated cries and grumbles, Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to a very flummoxed-looking Scorpius with an expression of forced calm, nonchalantly pointing her wand over her shoulder to close the doors behind her troublesome family.

‘Okay, Scorpius. Two things.’ She spoke quickly, looking slightly manic. ‘One: how did you sleep? It was very warm last night, so I hope the attic didn’t get too overheated for you.’

Scorpius blinked. ‘Oh, um. It was great! Fine! Not too warm. At all.’ He laughed nervously, electing not to mention that him and Albus had resorted to kicking off the sheets in order to stay cool while insisting on keeping an arm each curled round the other’s torso.

‘Good. Two: I probably shouldn’t have waited until now to ask this, but as I’m sure you’ve found, if there’s one thing this week has been, it is _hectic_. Does Draco—does your dad eat salmon?’

Again, Scorpius blinked. ‘Salmon?’

‘I was thinking fish would be better than… oh, I don’t know, a steak. Fish is good. It’s light. It’s too hot for steak. We’d just get meat sweats.’ Ginny wiped her brow mid-ramble as fervently as if she were experiencing something similar herself.

Scorpius considered explaining just how perfect it would be, based on how his mother hadn’t been able to stomach red meat, which meant their family had a fairly fish-based diet to get her the iron she needed to stay healthy—or as healthy as possible. Eating fish reminded him and his father of their meals together when they’d been a complete family; they’d begun to recreate these meals over summer as a way of remembering her. As ever, though, Scorpius decided against voicing his thoughts for fear of making his listener sad.

Before speaking, though, it crossed his mind that he wanted to tell Albus. Yes, he’d tell him about that.

He cleared his throat, realising he’d hesitated. ‘Yes, no, that’s fine! Fish is fine! All good!’ He gave Ginny a trademark encouraging thumbs-up. ‘Did you—did you want any help at all preparing things?’

Ginny let out a sound that was halfway between a sound of gratitude and a whimper. ‘Oh, you are a sweetheart. Bless you. It’s your last day here, though, so you should head out and relax.’ She gave his shoulder a grateful squeeze, and ushered him towards the door.

‘Oh, and Scorpius?’

‘Mm?’ Poised to open the back door, Scorpius looked back over his shoulder.

‘Thank you for being such an amazing friend to Albus. I know the word ‘friend’ doesn’t quite cut it for what you are to each other now, but thank you. We couldn’t be happier for both of you. And I mean that sincerely from both of us.’

‘Wow. Um, thank you.’ Scorpius didn’t quite know how to respond, so he smiled shyly, and bowed his head towards the door.

‘Oh, can you send one of that lot in to help? I don’t care which one.’

‘Sure thing.’

‘Not Harry, though. He’s got some calming down to do before Dra—before we have lunch.’

‘Okay.’

Smiling at Ginny once more before she dove into the fridge, sending various vegetables flying onto the counter behind her, Scorpius let his breath out heavily as he opened the door.

‘Think I’ve got some calming down to do too,’ he mumbled to himself.

* * *

‘ _Again_ with the pristinely-kept cars? How many does that man need to show off?’

‘Two. Cars,’ Ginny hissed through her teeth, not breaking her ostensibly calm smile. ‘You have seen _two_ of his cars.’

Harry frowned, folding his arms petulantly. ‘Probably has more, though,’ he muttered.

As he stepped out of the car, Draco’s brow was furrowed as if he’d heard exactly what Harry had been saying. Upon seeing his son at the end of the driveway, however, his face visibly lit up.

Scorpius waved so enthusiastically he nearly hit Albus in the arm. As much as Albus had loved having Scorpius to himself, he felt a surge of pride seeing Scorpius being so comfortable with his father, which he realised was a noticeable development from how surprised he’d been seeing the two interact at the beginning of the week.

Albus took Scorpius’s hand in his own and squeezed it encouragingly; but before he could quickly pull it away so Draco didn’t see, Scorpius’s grip tightened. Running a thumb over Albus’s knuckles, he turned to Albus, giving a small nod, as if to silently say _‘It’s okay’_.

Albus had been feeling some trepidation on Scorpius’s behalf, but he couldn’t begin to imagine exactly how he was feeling. It was one thing for Albus to question his own sexuality, admit to Scorpius how he felt, and tell his family in the space of a few days; Scorpius had been feeling like this for an incomprehensibly long time. His nerves had been palpable as they ate breakfast, his knee jiggling up and down erratically under the table, and as the two of them began packing Scorpius’s belongings in the attic, Scorpius had been noticeably jittery, talking at twice the usual speed and with even more interjections of nervous laughter than usual.

After Scorpius’s third unsuccessful attempt at folding the same pair of jeans, Albus had put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

_'Need a hand?’_

Scorpius had thrown down the jeans with a high-pitched cry of frustration. _‘I just don’t know what to say to Dad,’_ he’d cried. _‘How do I even go about broaching it? Shall I pull him to one side when he arrives? Should I blurt it out at the dinner table and force everyone into the inevitable ensuing awkwardness?’_

Albus had felt a pang of helplessness. He knew he couldn’t tell Scorpius what to say—heck, if Scorpius was uncertain about how his dad would react, then Albus didn’t have a chance of guessing. _‘You know that we’d help if things went sideways, right?’_ He’d said gently, squeezing Scorpius’s shoulder. _‘And I hate to go worst-case scenario here, but I mean it. You’re part of the family now.’_

Scorpius had sighed. _‘I know. I just don’t want it to be uncomfortable, but I know it’s going to be, and I’m absolutely dreading it.’_

Making a sympathetic noise, Albus had knelt down next to Scorpius.

 _‘I don’t think he’ll react badly, per se,’_ Scorpius had continued. _‘I don’t think he’s like that. In a perverse way, I’m the only family he’s got left, so he’d be daft to alienate me.’_ He’d laughed rather darkly, and Albus detected a waver in his voice before Scorpius shook himself. _‘I’m more worried that I’ll be awkward, and he’ll be awkward, and that together we’ll undo an entire year of progress.’_ He’d grimaced at Albus, then cocked his head to one side curiously. _‘I just realised: I never asked. What did you say to your parents?’_

A snort of laughter had escaped his lips before Albus could say anything encouraging _. ‘Oh, it was a mess.’_

Scorpius’s concern had been instantly evident, and Albus had panicked, gesturing frantically. _‘No, I mean—it was my fault it was a mess. I’m sure you’ll go about it much more eloquently. I basically just had a mental breakdown in several stages as I came to the realisation that I was in love with you.'_ He’d paused to shrug, trying not to visibly cringe at the memory for Scorpius’s sake. He’d made a mental note to repress it for all time once everything was out in the open. _‘I called Dad home from work—_

Scorpius had looked baffled. _'When did this happen?'_

 _'...When you were in the shower yesterday. Anyway,'_ Albus had interjected before Scorpius could exclaim anything in incredulity, _'h_ _e observed the whole sorry show with raised eyebrows, figuratively eating a bowl of popcorn. I didn’t mention your name specifically, but I think he put two and two together.’_

Noticing Scorpius’s eyebrows were raised in a similar fashion, Albus had huffed. _‘Your impression of him is uncanny. He wasn’t surprised, I don’t think. Nor was Mum, from what I could tell when they talked to me last night. I don’t know if it was because they genuinely don’t mind, or if they really had known all along, or if I just missed their initial reactions entirely. I did actually tell James everything yesterday afternoon too, but either way, it was messy, and I didn’t really articulate anything properly until the party when you were with me.’_

Scorpius had been quiet for a moment—in this silence, Albus had rested his hand on Scorpius’s knee.

 _'You don’t have to tell him today,’_ Albus had said gently. _‘If it’s too much, you can tell him when you get back. He probably won’t notice anything different between us—he already knows we’re affectionate with each other. Just might have to avoid the whole kissing thing,’_ he’d jested, smiling cheekily.

Scorpius had managed a small laugh before exhaling slowly. _‘Just one problem. Your whole family knows.’_

Albus had let out an understanding ‘ _Ah_.’ before Scorpius had explained fully. _‘I’d feel too guilty him not knowing as soon as possible. I know him; he’d work out your family already knew, and assume everyone was in on it against him. He means well, but he’s so defensive.’_

Nodding slowly, Albus had hummed in agreement. _‘Okay. That seems as good a reason as any.’_ He’d squeezed Scorpius’s leg encouragingly. _‘I’ll be there whatever you decide to do.’_

Scorpius had taken Albus’s hand in his, running his fingers over it absently, as though lost in thought. _‘I think… I think it’ll be okay,’_ he’d said eventually.

Albus had breathed an inward sigh of relief. _‘Yeah?’_

 _‘Yeah. Don’t get me wrong—I think it’ll be disastrous. It will be messy and inarticulate, like you found, and I’ll probably say something stupid or drop something and cause a small explosion. But you’ll be there, so no matter what happens, it’ll be okay.’_ He’d turned to face Albus, his expression earnest. _‘You make me braver.’_

This had caught Albus off guard. Leaning up from the floor, he’d enveloped Scorpius in a furious hug, not knowing what to say in response without getting choked up.

 _‘Besides,’_ Scorpius had added chirpily, sounding much more like himself. _‘I can easily divert attention away from awkward conversations about sexuality with my rapier wit.’_

Albus had laughed loudly and assured him that he’d come to the rescue before he let his ‘rapier wit’ save the day, but he had sensed that the tension still hadn’t left Scorpius’s shoulders.

That tension was still there now, but Scorpius was shouldering it bravely. There was a certainty in the way he was holding himself now as he waved his father over, not letting go of Albus’s hand until Draco was a few feet away. Albus took a respectful step to the side to make room for Draco to hug his son.

After embracing Scorpius, Draco took a step back, eyebrows raised. ‘You look healthy. And tanned,’ Draco commented, sounding bemused. ‘I didn’t know Malfoys could tan.’

Harry immediately spluttered with laughter. ‘Was that an attempt at humour, Draco?’

Albus nudged Scorpius, stifling his own laughter.

Draco sniffed, a smile creeping across his face. ‘My son clearly has superior genes—he’s not quite as pasty as me.’

‘It helps that I’ve been outside this week,’ Scorpius piped up eagerly.

There was another pause before everyone burst out laughing. Draco clapped his son on the shoulder, grimacing. ‘Outside _more than usual_ would’ve been a better way to phrase that,’ he said fondly.

Scorpius shrugged and laughed sheepishly, some of the tension visibly loosening from his shoulders—much to Albus’s relief.

Still chuckling, Ginny pulled Draco in for a hug. ‘Just as a warning, my husband is furiously jealous of your car,’ she spoke in an exaggerated whisper. ‘Whatever envious vibes you get from him, though, we are actually glad to have you over.’

Draco and Harry exchanged bemused looks.

‘Well, I’ve always been one to flaunt my riches and privilege,’ Draco said drily.

‘Don’t I know it.’

Harry held out his hand, seemingly as a peace offering. Draco clasped it in both hands and shook it firmly. ‘Good to see you too,’ Draco said, a warmth in his voice that Albus wasn’t used to hearing, especially when directed at his dad.

James, Lily, and Teddy greeted Draco in turn with rehearsed waves and smiles, their attention largely focused on Albus and Scorpius, no doubt to gage how they were going to act. Scorpius laid a hand on Albus’s arm in a reassuring gesture before trailing after his father, who was presenting Albus’s parents with a bottle of alcohol and flowers in a surprisingly civil fashion. Making eye-contact with his siblings over Scorpius’s shoulder, Albus gave a non-committal shrug to indicate he didn’t know the plan. Having no choice but to accept this, the trio gave simultaneous nods and began whispering to each other conspiratorially.

Their attentiveness to the pair didn’t waver as they all trooped outside to sit down for the meal that Ginny had lovingly prepared. Harry had made several attempts to assist throughout the morning, insisting he could lighten the workload, but Ginny was convinced—and rightly so—that he only wanted to do so to brag to Draco about how amazing he was at cooking. As Albus had passed her in the kitchen an hour before as she refused her husband’s help for the umpteenth time, he’d heard her muttering under her breath about how she didn’t have the strength to deal with his smugness all afternoon. While Harry and Draco seemed to be caught in a silent competition of who could stand up straightest and pull a haughtier expression, James, Lily, and Teddy crowded around the back of the adjacent chairs Albus and Scorpius had sat down in.

‘Scorp, you okay?’ James whispered under his breath.

Scorpius looked surprised for a second, then nodded, smiling. ‘I’m fine. Why, do I look unwell?’

Lily tutted loudly, earning a hissed ‘Shush!’ from James. She retaliated by shoving him sharply with her elbow. ‘We figured you haven’t told your dad about Albus yet.’

‘That’s assuming you didn’t send him an owl.’

‘Why on earth would he send an owl, James?’ Lily whispered incredulously. ‘It’s only been about twelve hours, and Draco is _here now._ ’

‘Don’t be pedantic.’

Teddy pushed the bickering siblings to one side, and leaned closer to Scorpius so he wouldn’t be overheard by the adults on the other side of the table ‘Are you going to tell him now?’

Scorpius shot Albus a glance, grimacing. ‘Well, I was planning on sort of… winging it?’ He winced. ‘I mean, Dad doesn’t even know I’m into guys. Yet. He will soon. Hopefully. If I don’t screw it up.’

Lily’s eyes widened, and James and Teddy leaned in closer, looking as if they were about to offer several pieces of frantic advice.

‘You won’t screw it up,’ Albus said quietly, butting in before his siblings could. ‘And he doesn’t have to say anything if he doesn’t want to.’ His expression softened as he faced Scorpius once more. ‘Only whatever you’re comfortable with.’

Scorpius briefly looked grateful, before letting out a disgusted groan which briefly drew the attention of the adults. He was promptly shushed by the four teenagers around him. He cringed. ‘Sorry. Just… when did this get so complicated?’

‘It doesn’t have to be complicated,’ Teddy said calmly. ‘Just say whatever you want whenever you want. We’re all here for you.’ He and Lily smiled encouragingly, while James patted Scorpius on the shoulder.

Albus felt a surge of pride. He’d told Scorpius his family would support him one hundred percent, but seeing it actually coming from his siblings was overwhelming. Shooting a look at Scorpius, Albus could tell he felt the same.

‘Thanks guys,’ Scorpius mumbled, his eyes glassy.

In the brief silence that followed, the adults’ conversation fell silent.

‘What’re you conspiring about?’ Harry asked, eyebrows raised at the teens, whose attention had instantly diverted, and who were all now staring at Harry like deer caught in headlights.

‘Nothing.’ They all replied in the same instant.

Draco chuckled. ‘I take this to mean Scorpius has enjoyed this week, considering how he seems to have been adopted into the clan.’  
  
‘It’s been amazing,’ Scorpius gushed, nerves briefly forgotten. ‘We’ve played quidditch, toured the Ministry of Magic, been to Diagon Alley—’

‘And bought your body weight in confectionary, no doubt?’ Draco queried with a long-suffering sigh, his glinting eyes giving away his good humour.

‘Twice that, to be honest,’ Albus said, tutting as naturally as he could, feeling oddly nervous addressing Draco directly. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was Scorpius’s father, or if it was due to hearing such mixed things about Draco over the years. Despite the events of last year bringing the two families together in unexpected scenarios, Albus had never had the opportunity to talk to him one-on-one—nor had he actively sought it—so he hadn’t had a chance to really suss Draco. From the way Draco was now rather curiously regarding Albus, he gathered Draco felt the same about his son’s best friend.

‘You’re a fine one to talk,’ Scorpius scoffed, ‘mister “I need to buy at least twenty quills or my vast collection of pretty stationary will be FOREVER INCOMPLETE.”’

‘That seems a fair assessment,’ Ginny said, smirking. She pointedly took a seat between where Harry and Draco were standing, meaning they had no choice but to sit either side of her. They regarded each other with exaggeratingly civil expressions as they sat down, picked up their glasses of wine from their respective table settings, and clinked glasses. They were definitely behaving themselves thus far, but Albus didn’t blame his mum for taking the precaution.

He’d heard about the kitchen incident.

‘I wasn’t the one who wanted to walk out of the joke shop with all the pygmy puffs.’

Draco choked on the glass of wine he’d just raised to his lips. ‘You know full well I’m allergic, Scorpius,’ he said, his voice tinged with panic.

That earned a snort of laughter from Harry. Albus silently thanked his mother once again for putting some distance between the two men, as it meant Harry didn’t see the withering look Draco had shot in his direction.

‘You’re allergic to pygmy puffs?’ Harry said incredulously, biting back laughter as he looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eye. Albus—and now Harry—could tell from her wary expression that she was reliving the kitchen incident in vivid detail, and was poised to reign either man in if necessary. ‘What’s there to be allergic to? Their cuteness?’

Draco scowled. ‘Their fur, obviously.’ Albus mentally filed a bit of information away under ‘things he’d learned about Draco today’: _doesn’t take sarcasm well._

‘Oh, it’s okay though, Dad,’ Scorpius said eagerly, either oblivious to his father’s discomfort, or seeking to alleviate it with cheerfulness, as he was prone to doing. ‘George Weasley is certain they can be hypoallergenic.’

‘There you go, Draco,’ Harry said cheerfully, raising his glass of water in a toast. ‘That should reassure you.’  
  
Draco did not look reassured.

‘I had one called Arnold when I was Albus and Scorpius’s age,’ Ginny chipped in. ‘He was utterly adorable, and got me completely mad on them for years.'

'I used to love them,' Lily said, sighing wistfully. 'We only stopped getting them as pets when Albus developed his phobia.’

Albus let out an exclamation of distress, his mouth gaping open. ‘Lily!’

He felt his cheeks redden as all eyes turned to him—in amusement from the rest of his family, and horror from Scorpius.

‘Phobia?’ Scorpius cried.

Lily clapped her hand over her mouth comically. ‘Sorry!’ she said, looking more amused than apologetic.

‘It’s not a phobia!’ Albus exclaimed indignantly. ‘I told you before: they just freak me out.’

‘They’re adorable!’ Scorpius flung his hands in the air, nearly sending their drinks flying. ‘What did they ever do to you?’

James chose this moment to slam his glass down on the table with a fake-sombre expression.

‘My brother had…’ He paused dramatically. ‘…A traumatic experience.’

Albus wanted to crawl under the table. ‘Oh no.’

James stood up suddenly, pressing his palms on the wooden table, knocking aside several pieces of cutlery, which Ginny hastily flicked her wand at to reposition.

‘The year was 2013.’

Resisting the urge to slam his head on the table, Albus opted for burying his head in Scorpius’s shoulder. Scorpius dutifully patted him on the head, but didn’t pretend to not be engaged in James’s story.

‘Little Albus was minding his own business, his nose in a book as always. Probably one of his lame junior wizard detective stories that he was obsessed with. _Minta and the Mandrake Murder_ , or something like that. There are about five million of the cursed things, and this nerd had them all, so I can’t remember which one it was exactly—’

‘Get to the point, James,’ Ginny said amusedly, leaning back and flicking her wand at the door to the kitchen. ‘We do want to eat at some point.’

James cleared his throat, looking eagerly in the direction of the kitchen. ‘I digress. So seven-year-old Albus was so engrossed in his book that the baby pygmy puff—Reggie—sitting beside him was convinced he was asleep.’ He puffed his chest out pompously. ‘Now, the Puffskein owners among you will be fully aware that Pygmy Puffs and their less fluffy counterparts alike have remarkably long tongues, and a penchant for eating human bogies directly out of sleeping humans’ nostrils.’

‘I don’t like where this is going,’ Draco said drily.

‘I repeat: we’re going to be _eating_ , James. Please spare us the details.’

James sighed. ‘Long story short, little fluffy Reggie thought Albus was asleep and stuck his tongue up Albus’s right nostril.’

Scorpius clapped a hand over his mouth, to stifle laughter or horror Albus couldn’t tell, while everyone else made variations of disgusted and amused noises

‘His screams could be heard from the end of the garden,’ James added solemnly.

‘I remember it well,’ Teddy said, deadpan, very obviously trying not to laugh.

‘A truly tragic event.’ James nodded seriously, his hand clasped together. ‘Thankfully Reggie lived to tell the tale, but sadly, Albus’s tolerance of the household pet did not.’ James bowed dramatically and took a seat, holding up a hand for a high-five from Teddy, which he received with great gusto.

Lily shook her head. ‘We’d only had Reggie for a week at that point. How was he to know that Albus resembled the living dead when he was engrossed in a book? Reggie was still a baby. And _adorable_.’ She glared at Albus.

Albus raised his head from Scorpius’s shoulder as Scorpius gave him a sympathetic, one-armed hug. As he pulled away from Scorpius’s shoulder, he felt Draco’s eyes on him, his gaze searching.

‘That does actually sound rather traumatic, I’ll grant you,’ Scorpius giggled, trying and failing to sound sympathetic. ‘We don’t have to co-own a pygmy puff if you really don’t want to.’

The disappointed ‘awws’ and exaggerated sounds of distaste directed at Albus—largely from his siblings—faded into the background, as Albus continued to monitor Scorpius’s father out of the corner of his eye. Draco’s expression was unreadable, but he was definitely paying close attention to him and Scorpius. A sense of foreboding rose in the pit of Albus’s stomach.

As the table began to fill up with the plates and bowls of food that Ginny had summoned, suddenly aware he was under scrutiny, Albus decided to make a conscious effort to not be conspicuous. He was hyper-aware of every affectionate gesture he showed to Scorpius, and of how he was coming across himself; granted, a childhood story of a pygmy puff sticking a tongue up his nostril was not how he’d wanted to start, but hey: the only way was up.

Glancing automatically to his left to check on Scorpius before beginning to eat, Albus noticed Scorpius not-so-subtly scrutinising his father, presumably sizing up his mood and weighing his chances of broaching the topic. Both of them watched as Draco smiled, almost to himself, down at the food that had landed in his place setting.

‘Thank you,’ Draco said. ‘This looks delicious.’  
  
A clatter of cutlery and china filled the comfortable silence fell for a few moments, as everyone eyed up the food in front of them. Harry was the first to break the silence by awkwardly clearing his throat.

‘Before we dig in to Gin’s fabulous cooking, I just wanted to raise a small toast to our guest.’ Harry gestured with his glass towards Scorpius, whose ears instantly began to turn pink. Albus found Scorpius’s hand under the table and held it tightly.

‘Scorpius, it has been a real pleasure having you stay. I think the family and I, though Albus especially—’ this earned a knowing chuckle from everyone around the table, Draco included, ‘—would be inclined to agree that Scorpius’s presence has been a ray of sunshine to us over the last few days. Albus is very lucky to have such a good friend, and Scorpius, you are welcome to stay any time.’

Ginny raised her glass to chink against her husband’s. ‘I couldn’t have put it better. He’s a credit to you and Astoria, Draco.’

Albus couldn’t decide who looked more moved—Draco or Scorpius—as everyone around the table raised their drinks in a toast. Lily and Teddy cheered; Scorpius thanked Ginny and Harry profusely; James reached over and ruffled Scorpius’s hair; and Draco regarded Scorpius with an expression of warmth and pride akin to the look he’d given his son at Godric’s Hollow last year.

‘Well,’ Draco said, picking up his cutlery. ‘Albus would be more than welcome to stay with us at some point over the Christmas holidays, if he wanted. I’m assuming Scorpius would be alright with that,’ he added, eyebrows raised.

Albus and Scorpius exchanged a delighted glance. He didn’t know about Scorpius, but Albus had expected to fight a bit harder to be invited to Scorpius’s home. The false rumours surrounding Scorpius’s parentage—and Draco’s grief-stricken desperation to refute them—had prevented Ginny’s attempts at bringing the two together over the Christmas holidays before, and Albus had since all but given up hope he’d ever visit Scorpius’s home. Even before then, Draco had been notoriously reluctant to receive visitors, wanting to keep his family protected from the world.

The one Christmas they’d spent together had been at Hogwarts, and had been blissfully peaceful compared with the riotous, lively family Christmases to which Albus was accustomed. Early in the morning, he and Scorpius had sat cross-legged by the fireplace in the empty common room and exchanged gifts, feverishly over-excited by the fact that they were the only two in their year who had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. They’d spent the rest of the day in the Great Hall playing chess and eating food whenever it appeared on the tables, along with the handful of other students who hadn’t gone home for the holidays, and had planned in excruciating detail how they would spend Christmases together when they were allowed to visit each other’s houses.

And Albus could tell from the way Scorpius was squeezing his hand now that he was picturing precisely what they’d imagined they’d do. Plans of afternoons in the Malfoy Manor library, wrapped in layers of blankets to keep out the winter chill; brisk walks in the frozen Wiltshire countryside, passing through the nearby Muggle town; ice-skating on the lake behind the house, which Albus had assured Scorpius he would be utterly hopeless at, given his lack of coordination on a broom; and curling up on the plush sofas with hot chocolate and playing board games. The images flickering through Albus’s mind felt very out of place in the increasing warmth of yet another gorgeous summer day, but the prospect of spending more time with Scorpius outside of school was too exciting to not think ahead to.

‘That’d be exceptionally kind of you,’ Ginny said warmly, seeming to grasp the significance of the offer. ‘Albus would be over the moon, I’m sure.’

‘Understatement of the century!’ Albus said gleefully, aiming his comment at his mother, forgetting Draco briefly in his elation. Clearing his throat, he addressed Draco directly.

‘Thank you, Draco,’ he said as sincerely as he could manage in his excitement. ‘I really appreciate the offer.’ He forked some salmon into his mouth in an effort to conceal a cheesy grin, which was especially difficult with Scorpius’s foot drumming against his legs in uncontainable excitement.

‘Dad, you’re the best,’ Scorpius said emphatically, nearly dropping a forkful of potatoes in a trademark enthusiastic gesture. ‘We can take Albus into town, clear out the attic, and—’

‘Woah, last time I checked, it was still the height of summer,’ Draco laughed. ‘Maybe let’s not wish the year away for a week in December?’

James snorted loudly. ‘You think _he’s_ bad? You should’ve seen Albus last week.’

‘Last week? He’s been like this since term ended,’ Lily retorted under her breath. Everyone looked at her, and she appeared surprised that she’d drawn everyone’s attention, as if she hadn’t realised she’d spoken out loud. She looked at Albus with a semi-apologetic expression and shrugged.

‘Yes, I’m aware,’ Draco said in a bemused voice. ‘I had to put up with Scorpius trying to start packing in late June.’

That set everyone off laughing once more, and latching onto the topic of packing, the conversation drifted to the impending school year, and the adults’ queries about school subjects, exams, and teachers dominated discussion for the remainder of the meal. Albus felt himself relaxing under Draco’s scrutiny after the offer to stay, particularly as Scorpius seemed content, nattering away about Arithmancy as if there was nothing weighing on his mind. Draco seemed suitably impressed with Albus’s subject choices, and reeled off some tips for Fifth-Year Care of Magical Creatures, which seemed to put Harry in a state of shock—‘ _I don’t know how you paid attention to anything while Umbridge was strutting around!_ ’—and appeared to surprise Scorpius, too.

In fact, the whole thing seemed to be going swimmingly well.

‘I think I’ll actually tell him after we’ve eaten,’ Scorpius murmured to Albus suddenly, as their parents all laughed loudly at a witty school anecdote Teddy had just relayed.

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. I don’t want to break up the conversation or make your parents uncomfortable.’

‘You wouldn’t make them uncomfortable, you know that. But whatever you want to do,’ Albus replied in an undertone, nudging Scorpius’s leg encouragingly.

Scorpius reached for Albus’s hand under the table and held it tightly for what was probably the umpteenth time during the course of the meal.

‘Merlin, Mum, where did you have all this food hidden?’ James said incredulously, watching dessert plates appear on the table as bowls of ice-cream floated towards them.

Ginny grinned mysteriously, pointing her wand at the last of the dirty plates on the table; it disappeared, and was quickly replaced by a clean one. Albus grimly noted that after a week escaping from the chore, it was definitely his turn to do the washing up; he tried his best not to picture the pile of plates that was inevitably sitting in the sink waiting for him.

‘Sorry it’s not maple mint medley, Scorpius,’ Ginny said, smiling at Scorpius as he watched the ice-cream floating towards him with the intensity of a wild animal stalking prey.

Dragging his eyes away from the floating food, Scorpius snorted. ‘Any ice-cream is good ice-cream. I think I’ve eaten it every single day this week, and I’m still not tired of it.’

Teddy leaned forwards over the table to see past James. ‘Did you try any of the caramel ice-cream Fleur brought along last night?’

Scorpius looked distraught. ‘There was caramel ice-cream?’ he cried, sounding as distressed as if someone had told him ice-cream itself was being discontinued. Not knowing how to console him, Albus settled for a slightly patronising pat on the shoulder.

‘We had the family over for a last-minute pot-luck style party last night,’ Harry explained for Draco’s benefit. ‘Just a small get-together of about twenty of us.’

‘How lovely,’ Draco said, without a hint of sarcasm. ‘Sounds like you’re practically one of the family now, Scorpius.’

Scorpius smiled shyly as everyone made sounds of agreement. ‘Everyone’s made me feel very at home,’ he said sincerely, glancing around the table, his gaze landing on Albus last. They held eye-contact for a moment longer than entirely necessary, which was only broken in reaction to what Draco said next.

‘Ah, Scorpius, did Rose happen to be there last night?’

Scorpius froze.

Suddenly Albus’s pre-emptive dread didn’t seem so unfounded.

‘She was there,’ Scorpius forced out in an ostensibly relaxed voice.

Draco raised an eyebrow. ‘How is she?’

‘She’s fine.’ Scorpius feigned being distracted by his dessert, hastily picking up a spoon and beginning to shovel ice-cream into his mouth.

Leaning backwards so he could address Ginny and Harry on either side of him, Draco grinned. ‘He’s been writing to her all summer. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Scorpius.’ Ginny and Harry both made small surprised noises, clearly not quite knowing quite what to make of the conversation.

Scorpius’s focus on his bowl of ice-cream was unwavering.

‘You never said if she reconsidered you asking her out. Any, uh… joy on that front?’ Draco had lowered his voice slightly, but not nearly enough to avoid being heard by the rest of the table. All other conversation had now died down, and everyone’s gazes were flickering between Scorpius and Draco as swiftly as if they were watching a tennis ball bounce from one side of the net to the other.

‘Do we have to talk about this now, Dad?’ Scorpius said through gritted teeth, deliberately avoiding eye-contact.

Draco put down his spoon and held his hands up in defeat. ‘Sorry, I’ll drop it. You just hadn’t mentioned her in a while, that’s all.’

Now it was Scorpius’s turn to raise his eyebrows. ‘Then how do you know I was writing to her?’

‘Her father sent me an owl.’

The table was suddenly alive with huffs of incredulity and barely discernible groans from Harry and Ginny. Albus winced. _Those bloody letters._

‘Ron had sussed a while ago that Scorpius was sending Rose cryptic letters in invisible ink,’ Draco explained, ‘and decided to express his delight that they were getting along through a rambling letter, which devolved into a list of the reasons why his daughter was practically perfect in every way. It seemed vaguely unnecessary,’ Draco added, ‘as I think half the wizarding world knows that Rose Granger-Weasley is the smartest student her age. I think he was just pleased that Rose wasn’t turning her nose up at being friends with boys.’

‘Well, if you must know,’ Scorpius said, stabbing a scoop of ice-cream with as much vigour as he could manage with a spoon, ‘she’s been offering me advice on quidditch try-outs, and expressing her willingness to be _friends_ with us two.’ He gestured emphatically with his cutlery at the word ‘friends’. ‘It wasn’t really the sort of stuff she wanted her parents to accidentally read. Probably for that exact reason.’

Draco nodded, seeming to take Scorpius’s insistences—and Albus’s uncomfortable expression—as a reasonable explanation. Granted, it wasn’t the entire truth, but it wasn’t the most ideal segue into the conversation. Albus really felt for Scorpius; confrontation was completely against his nature, but his patience was clearly being tested.

‘Well. As Ron said, I’m glad you’re all getting along.’ There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, which was thankfully broken by James:  
  
‘If it means Albus has more than one friend at school, then consider me delighted.’

Everyone laughed loudly at that, more out of relief than anything, and for once Albus was grateful to have a joke made at his expense. He shot James a grateful look as conversation resumed.

‘You okay?’ He whispered to Scorpius out of the corner of his mouth.

Scorpius exhaled in response, and they both laughed to themselves.

Despite their insistence, Ginny and Harry refused to let either guest clear up when everyone had finished, instead clapping Albus on the shoulder jovially and loudly proclaiming that they were sure he would volunteer to help clear up properly later. While his parents flicked their wands at dirty bowls and glasses and retreated briefly to the kitchen, enlisting the help of Teddy, James, and Lily to set up some more garden furniture on the patio, Draco made his way over to Albus and Scorpius’s side of the table.

‘Sorry, Scorpius. I didn’t mean to make such a deal about Rose,’ Draco said apologetically, scratching his head not dissimilarly to how Scorpius did when he was nervous.

Scorpius smiled good-naturedly. ‘It’s okay,’ he said brightly. ‘She just about tolerates me at the best of times, but romantically, it was clear early on that it was not meant to be. We’re both just friends now, and it suits us much better.’

Inevitably, Albus felt a pang of jealousy at the memories of Scorpius pining after Rose, planning on how to ask her out, and conducting fool-proof schemes to get her to tolerate him. At least Albus felt he had a better understanding of why he’d pettily skipped accompanying Scorpius to quidditch matches, and why he’d been grumpier than he could justify when Scorpius verbalised his over-optimistic plans for if Rose agreed to date him.

As if he could sense this, Scorpius’s eyes darted to Albus. Maintaining eye contact, his mouth crept up in a shy smile that brought Albus back to the present and made his stomach somersault. He desperately hoped he hadn’t blushed, feeling he’d forever be woefully unprepared for how much Scorpius so much as smiling would completely floor him.

‘Never mind.’ Draco tutted sympathetically. ‘I’m glad you’re friends—that’s very mature of you both. Does that mean she’s part of the gang now?’ He laughed as Scorpius winced at the expression. ‘I know how exclusive your double act is. Ah well,’ he continued breezily, ‘you’ve got years ahead of you at Hogwarts. You never know who you’ll meet. Same goes for you, Albus,’ he chuckled, glancing from Albus to his son. ‘Your future wives could be waiting for you in Fifth Year.’

Albus groaned inwardly. _Why does every ex-Hogwarts parent act like Hogwarts is a matchmaking service?_ he thought, electing to ignore that that was precisely what had happened to him and Scorpius. Back in the summer after First Year, he recalled how Harry had interrogated him every time a girl’s name was mentioned in passing, lacking all subtlety as he asked Albus if they got on, what house they were in, and—most importantly—if they played quidditch. ( _‘I’ve spoken to her once, she’s in Hufflepuff, and Merlin, Dad, no-one’s in the quidditch team in First Year. As you delight in telling us, you were a child prodigy, and no one that young has ever joined a team since!’_ )

‘Well, sometimes the right person is under your nose the whole time,’ Scorpius said tentatively.

Albus felt his heartbeat quicken. He clenched his hands into fists, feeling his palms beginning to sweat.

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Absolutely. Your mother and I… we were at Hogwarts together all that time, and our paths probably didn’t cross once. We didn’t meet until years later.’

Scorpius flinched ever so slightly at the mention of his mother as Draco cleared his throat. ‘True, I may not have had the luxury of knowing your mother then, or having a tight-knit group of friends who supported me. But ultimately, you’ve got Albus, and that’s the main thing.’

‘Definitely,’ Scorpius breathed, looking at Albus as if he were a lifeline. Albus sensed he was going to go for it.

‘So I’m sure you’ll help each other through any heartbreaks,’ Draco finished brightly. ‘That is, if anyone ever meets your standards,’ he said, laughing. ‘Any future girlfriend of Albus’s would have to get through you first, right Scorpius?’

‘Funnily enough, that’s actually true, because Albus and I are together.’

Silence.

Draco blinked. Inhaled sharply through his nose.

‘Right. As in, _together_ together?’

As if in answer, Scorpius reached for Albus’s hand and clasped it tightly. Albus had been contemplating doing the same, if only to provide some physical solidarity, but didn’t want to make Scorpius display more affection than he was comfortable doing.

‘Yes,’ Scorpius said finally, a firm smile creeping across his face despite his obvious nerves.

‘Right.’ Draco blinked, looking stricken. He seemed completely lost for words, and—Albus began to register—not in a good way.

‘It’s only a recent thing,’ Scorpius said hastily, mistaking his father’s staccato response for surprise alone. ‘I mean, I’ve felt this way about Albus for a while, but we only really—it’s only been official since yesterday. Look at me, saying we’re official!’ he said gleefully, glancing at Albus, then back to his father. Sensing what was coming next, seeing Scorpius’s optimism made Albus want to cry.

Straightening his posture, Draco inhaled sharply. ‘Well, that’s something. Just… let me get this straight,’ he said, cocking his head to one side. ‘You weren’t lying when you said you used to like Rose, then?’

Scorpius furrowed his brow in confusion. ‘No,’ he said uncertainly. ‘I did. Like I said, it didn’t work out. I’ve moved on.’ He raised the hand that was clasping Albus’s into the air. ‘Tadah! Exhibit A!’ he said, a half-hearted attempt at making light of what was quickly becoming an uncomfortable conversation. ‘I wanted to tell you as soon as possible; I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m just a tad excited.’

Albus would’ve ordinarily been concerned about how much his hand was sweating with nerves, if it weren’t for the fact that Scorpius’s was too.

‘Sorry, just to backtrack,’ Draco said crisply, ‘but does this mean you’re only dating boys now?’

Scorpius grimaced, looking incredibly uncomfortable. ‘Well. Um, I can’t say I’ve really looked beyond Albus recently, Dad, and I don’t really—’

‘It just seems a bit of an overreaction to completely veer the other way, doesn’t it?’ Draco said, sounding confused. He inspected his nails, picking at them absently with his thumb. Albus wondered with a hint of disgust if the conversation was boring him.

Scorpius’s face fell.

‘I haven’t “veered away” from anything. I’m just with Albus now. There’s a difference.’

‘So, what, is this just a summer fling?’

The carelessness with which Draco threw the term ‘summer fling’ at him hit Albus in a place where he didn’t know it could hurt. He furiously blinked away the tears he felt prickling in his eyes, determined to be strong for Scorpius’s sake; he steeled himself, having a feeling the situation wasn’t going to improve.

‘Merlin, no!’ Scorpius exclaimed, visibly upset now. ‘Dad, I’ve never been more serious about anyone, and I may not ever be again. I—’

Draco looked uncomfortable, and spoke quietly as if aware that their conversation was becoming heated: 'Okay, okay, sorry,' he said soothingly. 'You do see my point, though?' He spoke gently, as if he were expecting Scorpius to understand. 'I don't know why you'd deliberately make things more difficult for yourself. Isn’t it just easier to stick to girls?’ 

‘That’s not a decision I’m at liberty to make,’ Scorpius said, his voice shaky but cold. ‘I can’t ignore that part of me, Dad.’

More than anything, Albus wanted to drag Scorpius away from the table, there and then; anything to stop the staring match between the unmistakably crestfallen father and his resolute, stony-faced son.

The silence dragged on for what felt like hours. Eventually, it was the sound of Albus’s parents’ voices growing louder as they left the house that seemed to shake Draco out of his stupor.

Blinking, Draco nodded, muttering another ‘Right’ to himself, and abruptly turned and walked away.

As Albus monitored Scorpius’s blank expression, he heard Draco a few feet away asking Ginny and Harry where their bathroom was; they directed him indoors, and Albus heard him stride into the house. He vaguely sensed his parents’ gaze had fallen on the two of them, but he was more concerned with Scorpius.

‘Hey.’ Albus squeezed their entwined hands, tentatively resting his other hand in the small of Scorpius’s back. ‘It’s alright,’ he whispered, knowing full well it wasn’t, but not knowing what else to offer. ‘It’s alright.’

Scorpius just blinked at him vacantly. ‘I feel like that couldn’t have gone any worse,’ he said in a quiet, wavering voice. It sounded so un-Scorpius like that Albus’s chest tightened instantly. A clueless, ignorant part of him hadn’t even entertained the possibility of this outcome, and had selfishly assumed that Draco would be as delighted as his family. _It must be even worse knowing that my entire family supported us,_ Albus thought, horrified, _but Draco reacted like that._ Not knowing what to say, Albus just pulled Scorpius to him and held him tightly.

‘I’m sorry,’ Albus mumbled into Scorpius’s hair.

‘I just don’t get it,’ Scorpius whispered, his voice barely audible. ‘I never thought he’d understand completely, but at the very least, I hoped he’d be glad that I’m happy.’

 _Maybe it’s because of me?_ Albus thought desperately, clutching at straws. _Perhaps he just doesn’t want Scorpius to fall in love with the son of Harry Potter?_ He didn’t voice his thoughts aloud, considering them selfish and unhelpful. He just didn’t want to—couldn’t, even—comprehend Scorpius being made to feel so small for wanting to be with him.

‘Maybe he’ll come round?’ Albus offered tentatively. ‘I don’t know how traditional he is—it might just have been a shock for him.’

Scorpius began shaking his head, then hesitated. ‘Well, even though he wasn’t exactly free to do what he wanted when he was my age, I never thought he was traditional in that sense. He’s not even that strict—he’s occasionally quick to anger, and can get defensive, but he’s usually fairly open-minded. Or so I thought,’ he added in a small voice.

‘Scorpius?’

Albus and Scorpius broke apart to face James, Lily, and Teddy, who quickly formed a circle around Scorpius—Teddy and James crouched down to his height, while Lily slid into the chair on Scorpius’s left. Their expressions were a mixture of horrified and devastated, and the sight of it was nearly enough to bring Albus back to the brink of tears. He watched as Scorpius blinked furiously and attempted a smile.

‘You okay, Scorp?’ James said gently, his brow creased with concern.

Teddy put a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. ‘We overheard—I’m sorry he acted that way.’

‘Do you want us to tell Mum and Dad?’ Lily spoke softly, hugging her knees to her chest.

Scorpius managed a small appreciative smile, and Albus was reminded with a pang of their conversation an hour or so prior; despite the situation, he adored the fact that his family had been true to their word and were offering Scorpius support without hesitation.

‘I’ll be okay. I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed.’

‘Oh, bless you, Scorp—you sound like a teacher.’ James cocked his head to one side sympathetically. ‘You have every right to be angry.’

‘It is pretty disappointing, though,’ Lily said glumly. ‘I thought he was alright. I was even enjoying him and Dad getting along. Though I won’t deny that I’m sad to not have witnessed the banter-slash-arguing that apparently takes place whenever they’re in the same room.’

‘Ditto.’ James sighed.

‘Maybe I am a bit angry,’ Scorpius said quietly.

Teddy squeezed Scorpius’s shoulder comfortingly. ‘I don’t think your dad’s a bad person; he may just be surprised.’

‘He sure has a funny way of showing surprise.’ Scorpius sniffed.

‘It can be baffling that people still react poorly to coming out, but some just find it a lot to take in,’ Teddy said gently. ‘I was very lucky to have support when I came out, but I know others in my school year whose parents reacted completely differently, and their parents were from the same generation. And heck, that was only a few years ago. Many of them did come round, though. Draco may have reacted this way initially, but he might realise he overreacted.’

‘Hmm.’ Scorpius didn’t sound convinced. He appeared thoughtful for a moment.

Suddenly, Scorpius stood up. His abruptness sent his chair flying backwards, and he nearly fell face-first into the table in the process. Albus started, reaching out to steady him as he struggled to stand up straight.

Scorpius clutched Albus’s arm to right himself, then brushed himself down purposefully in spite of his blunder. ‘Nope,’ Scorpius said crisply. ‘Not good enough. I’ve spent too damn long sorting out the communication problems between us, and I’ll be damned if my home is going to become awkward and devoid of conversation again. I'm sorting this out now.’

Albus made to stand up, but stopped himself at the last second. ‘Do you—shall I wait out here?’

Scorpius exhaled sharply through his teeth, pressing a hand against the table. ‘Yes. Please. As much as I’d appreciate you being there, I don’t think this is going to be pretty.’

Albus nodded, understanding, and James, Teddy, and Lily offered pats and murmurs of encouragement as Scorpius dodged past them with about as much grace and frantic energy as a newborn deer. As he passed Albus, he backtracked slightly, and reached out to take Albus’s hand briefly. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t figure out what. In answer, Albus squeezed his hand.

‘I’ll be here,’ Albus murmured, knowing it was a small consolation at this point, but wanting to say it anyway, just so Scorpius was certain.

Smiling despite himself, Scorpius glanced down at their entwined hands. ‘I know. You always have been.’ He hesitated for a moment, as if weighing up his next move, then darted over and planted a kiss on Albus’s forehead. Before Albus could even react, Scorpius was already half-way to the house.

Obviously sensing something was amiss, Harry and Ginny had watched the exchange from a distance—now Scorpius had left, they slowly made their way over to the table.

‘Is Scorpius okay?’ Ginny said in a concerned voice, craning her neck to watch Scorpius’s gangly form ducking through the kitchen door.

Albus’s heart ached to hear her concern, and to see it reflected on his father’s face.

‘Did Draco give him any trouble?’ Harry asked hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate question. _Any other time it would not have been,_ Albus mused, but right now he was just touched by how much he and his mum cared as they looked at him expectantly.

‘Not exactly, and… kind of,’ Albus said cryptically, answering them both but not wanting to explain fully without Scorpius. ‘He’s… sorting it out.’

‘Should you go after him?’ Ginny said slowly.

Albus shook his head. ‘No. This is something he needs to do himself.’


	8. the world changes and we change with it

Collecting his already jumbled thoughts as best he could, Scorpius frantically checked each room for his dad as he marched through the house. If he were being completely honest with himself—which he was becoming very adept at doing—he had even less of an idea of how he was going to play this than he had earlier that day. He was, however, an expert in ‘winging it’—at least as his Potions professor had mused in one of his reports.

When he finally came across his father in the living room, perched on the edge of the sofa, he paused briefly in the doorway, trying to gage how Draco was feeling from his expression.

As ever, though, Draco’s face was giving nothing away, his emotions impossible to interpret. It was an expression Scorpius was used to. Back at home, this glazed expression had been a permanent fixture; for all Scorpius had known, he could have been reminiscing about Astoria, worrying about the death threats the family were receiving, or simply contemplating what to have for dinner. Never knowing what he was thinking had infuriated Scorpius, and had led to him constantly tiptoeing around his father, not wanting to act flippantly or upset him if he was feeling fragile. Not that Draco was ever prone to emotional outbursts, or taking it out on Scorpius. Sometimes, though, Scorpius found himself almost wishing for an outburst, if only to know what his dad was thinking.

Considering the progress they’d made in communicating with each other, not knowing what Draco was thinking—along with not having the foggiest clue why he’d reacted so terribly to Scorpius’s news—Scorpius was at the end of his tether. Frustration rose in him, seeing his dad sitting there with his blank expression, and it burst out before he could reign it in.

‘What the hell, Dad?’ Scorpius exploded.

The surprised look on Draco’s face reflected fairly accurately how Scorpius felt in that moment—Scorpius sometimes forgot he had this ferocity within him. He generally considered himself to be a mild-mannered person, as it took a lot to provoke him to this level of angry outburst. If he was ever upset or annoyed by something, the feeling usually faded quickly enough that he could respond calmly and explain how he felt, or even brush it off completely. Now, however, he refused to quell his fury, and he began speaking angrily, his pace quickening with every sentence.

‘It’s not exactly been the easiest of years, Dad,’ Scorpius started, an edge of sarcasm in his voice. ‘You know, accidentally resurrecting the Dark Lord and nearly erasing Albus and Rose from existence isn’t really how I imagined spending my fourth year, but hey! At least it stopped the constant bullying about whether Voldemort was my father and whether or not my nose was fake! So yes, I’ve had to put a lot behind me, but on the other side of it all, I’ve been able to have one of the best weeks of my life, spending time with my best friend and his family, and then finding out that said best friend—who I’ve been casually in love with for four years— _actually likes me back_. And then we get together, come out to his family in the most unbelievably chilled way, and I start to think “Gee, looks like things are finally coming up Scorpius! I can’t wait to tell Dad about everything, because talking is actually something we do now!”’

‘Scorpius—’

‘ _I’m not finished_ ,’ Scorpius hissed, waving his hands feverishly to silence his father. ‘Because _no,_ my dad has to march on in, bulldoze my happiness, and question everything, telling me that by loving Albus I’m “making things difficult for myself.” _Me?’_ The pitch of Scorpius’s voice was bordering on ultrasonic by now, but like he’d said: he wasn’t finished. ‘Making things difficult? When we’ve both spent the last few years miserable, because neither of us knew how to talk about Mum, and the second we finally start talking again, you tell me you’d rather I only fancied girls? I really thought we’d got better.’ Scorpius paused briefly for breath as his voice began cracking with emotion. Seeing Draco was making no effort to interject, he swallowed, then continued, speaking slower now.

‘I was so excited to tell you about him,’ Scorpius said in a small voice. ‘I love him, Dad. I always have, even if I didn’t initially know what I was feeling was called love. Albus has been there through everything. Through the bullying, after Mum, and through all of the chaos of the last year. But more importantly, he’s my best friend, and being with him feels so _right_.’ He broke off, his voice dipping to a whisper. ‘You know, Mum was always asking me about him—I wonder if she knew before I did. I know she’d be glad that we were together, and that I was happy. I just thought you would be too.’

Draco had barely moved for the last minute or so, seeming almost stunned into silence by Scorpius’s outburst. Scorpius tried to find more words to fill the silence, but he found he couldn’t speak either.

Draco was the first to speak. ‘That’s just it,’ he whispered. ‘That’s all I want. I want you to be happy.’

‘And yet you reacted like that,’ Scorpius said, unable to prevent contempt from creeping into his voice.

‘It’s been so difficult,’ Draco said through gritted teeth, ‘watching you grow up and seeing people question you and assume the worst of you. Especially as they didn’t know the real you: you’re wonderful, and caring, and you always see the good in people, Scorpius. I just couldn’t stand the things they said about you, and I will never stop wanting to protect you from it.’

He paused, and Scorpius looked at him expectantly. ‘So… what, you think people are going to say bad things about us?’ Scorpius felt himself growing tearful. ‘How can you think that? How can that be the only thing you take away from this? It’s _love_ , Dad, not the bloody end of the world.’

Draco cried out in frustration. ‘That’s not what I mean! I just… I worry about you so much that it consumes me. I want things to be easy for you, because you’ve been through so much, and none of it is your fault. I want you to be happy more than anything,’ he repeated, burying his head in his hands.

‘Then why aren’t you acting like it?’ Scorpius exclaimed, incredulous. ‘You’re just making things more difficult! Is it Albus? Is that it? Is your contempt for Harry Potter really that great that you can’t accept I love his son?’

‘Of course not!’ Draco sounded equally incredulous, which confused Scorpius even more.

‘What’s the problem, if not that? Because honestly, Dad, if you have a problem with me loving men, then you are _not_ the person I thought you were, and I don’t think—’

Panicked by what Scorpius was saying, Draco gestured for Scorpius to stop talking, then pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. ‘No, I—look. After the war—’ He broke off as Scorpius scoffed incredulously. ‘No, sorry, I know it’s a cliché, but hear me out: after the war, I kept thinking the world was changing—becoming a more accepting place. For all of us. I so wanted to believe it was getting better. But the second I turned my back, people were vilifying my own child for something he’d never done. They turned on my whole family. And now I can’t trust the world not to hurt you anymore.’

‘The world isn’t hurting me now, Dad. And bar the occasional homophobe, the world isn’t going to punish me for loving Albus,’ Scorpius said quietly. ‘You’re the only one who’s hurting me.’

As if in response, Draco blinked and inhaled sharply, and Scorpius watched in unveiled horror as his father’s eyes brimmed over with tears.

‘I never intended—I just want to protect you.’

Scorpius was rooted to the spot in shock. He’d never seen his father cry, not even when Astoria died. Sure, he’d seen Draco fearful for his life, and he’d seen Draco racked with emotion at the thought of losing him, but this was new, terrifying territory. For a moment, Scorpius had no idea how to respond.

A small, uncharacteristically bitter voice in his head told him his father deserved to regret what he’d said, and Scorpius contemplated leaving him to cry. But Scorpius had never been the kind of person to ignore someone in need of comfort, and he couldn’t stand seeing anyone cry, let alone his father, whose body was shaking with barely concealed sobs.

Draco stiffened in surprise when his son sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. For a moment he continued crying into balled fists, then hugged his son back.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Draco said, his voice cracking. ‘I never meant to hurt you.’

‘Well, you did,’ Scorpius said briskly. ‘You questioned that I loved Albus. Insinuated I could choose to love someone else, like it was an easy thing to do. It hurt, Dad.’

‘I just don’t want you to get hurt for loving who you love. You’ve been through so much already. I know I overreacted, and I’m sorry. I just thought that if you like both—'

‘Please don’t say it,’ Scorpius interjected firmly. He broke away from the hug. ‘I know what you’re going to say, and I know you don’t mean it, not really.’ He sighed, thinking carefully about how to phrase his next words. ‘I love Albus, and nothing will change that. I’m not going to force myself to like someone because it might give you peace of mind, which is a _rubbish_ concept, by the way, because people should be able to love whoever the hell they want, and I wouldn’t be protecting myself by doing otherwise. I’d just be making myself miserable. I need you to understand that.’

Draco seemed to consider Scorpius’s words. Then, as if realising the weight of what he’d asked of his son, his posture visibly wilted. ‘There isn’t really an excuse for my overreaction, is there?’ he said in a low voice.

Scorpius spoke curtly. ‘No.’

Draco sighed shakily, and put a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. ‘Can you forgive me? I—I really am trying to be better for you. To be a better father.’

Scorpius exhaled slowly, feeling tearful. Draco genuinely was trying. The exchange from outside was still playing on repeat in his head, and he wondered if he’d ever be able to forget it. But his father’s views came from a protectiveness that Scorpius could never comprehend as a result of his subsequently cosy upbringing. Draco became defensive when his family began to be harassed by the false claims about Scorpius, and with Astoria’s health the way it was, there was all the more reason to be protective. So even though Scorpius couldn’t condone what his father had said to him, he couldn’t begrudge him either; it had come from a place of protectiveness, however horribly misguided.

‘You’ve never been a bad father,’ Scorpius said gently, his anger beginning to fade. ‘The world is just not the place you think it is. There’s more love than hatred out there if you look for it.’

Draco gave a small smile. ‘You definitely got your optimism from your mother, that’s for sure.’

Huffing with laughter, Scorpius shrugged. ‘It’s a combination of optimism and blissful ignorance about the world.’ His smile fading, he glanced downwards, knotting his hands together nervously. ‘Dad, can you promise me you’re actually okay with me and Albus? Because I don’t actually know what I’d do if you weren’t.’

Draco blinked his eyes shut and squeezed Scorpius’s shoulder. ‘Honestly, Scorpius? If you’re happy, then I’m happy. I can tell how important this is to you—how important _Albus_ is to you.’

Keeping his gaze fixed on his hands, Scorpius blinked repeatedly, trying not to cry.

‘I really am. Despite everything I’ve said, you have to believe that,’ Draco said gently. ‘Albus is a lovely person, and he clearly thinks the world of you. You’d have to be a fool not to see that. I promise I will never get in the way of you two; I would hate to upset you—at least, no more than I already have with my idiocy. You don’t have to forgive me, but please know that I’m genuinely delighted you have each other.’

Now it was Scorpius’s turn to sob. Draco pulled him into a hug, and Scorpius wept into his shirt for a few moments, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.

That was all he’d needed.

They pulled apart, and Draco regarded Scorpius questioningly. ‘Can we start again, and pretend I didn’t overreact?’

Scorpius paused for a moment. He knew he’d need time to forgive his father for his initial reaction, but the acceptance and delight at Scorpius’s happiness was enough. And his father really was trying.

‘Okey dokey,’ he said eventually, sitting up straight, wiping away a stray tear with his sleeve. ‘From the top. Dad, Albus and I are together. Tadah.’ He waved his hands in a jazz-hands gesture in mock excitement, waiting for his dad’s response.

Draco regarded his son fondly. ‘That’s wonderful,’ he said solemnly. ‘I will do my best to not be embarrassing and intimidate him with a wand or shotgun, or whatever it is a father is supposed to do to their child’s boyfriend.’

Scorpius groaned. ‘Please don’t do that.’

‘I also promise to ignore the fact that you’re dating the son of Harry Potter.’

Scorpius clasped his cheeks in exasperation. ‘Please never bring that up. Ever.’

Draco laughed at Scorpius’s reaction, and they were quiet for a moment before Draco continued in a more serious voice.

‘So, boys and girls, huh. Does this mean you’re bisexual? Is that what you were originally trying to tell me, before I… bulldozed?’

Scorpius shrugged once more, wiping his nose inelegantly on his sleeve. He chuckled as his father regarded his action with an expression of disdain, and produced a tissue for Scorpius to use instead. ‘I don’t know exactly what I am,’ Scorpius said, sniffling into the tissue, ‘and I’m fairly relaxed about it. I love Albus, and that’s good enough for me. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had other crushes though. In fact, I feel like I’ve crushed on practically every person who’s been vaguely nice to me at school. Harper Magorian passed me their pencil when mine broke in the Second-Year Charms exam and Albus said my ears went pinker than the feathers we were enchanting.’

Draco nodded, a smile creeping across his face at the anecdote. ‘Okay. Sorry. I just want to make sure I get it right.’

‘Honestly, Dad?’ Scorpius said, finding himself smiling too. ‘The fact that you’re even asking means a lot.’

‘You know, come to think of it, this does explain a lot,’ Draco said thoughtfully, wiping his own nose with a tissue. ‘You know when Susie used to drop off your mum’s medication? The nurse’s daughter? You’d always hide in the library, and I’d walk past in the hallway and see you with your head buried in a Gilderoy Lockhart book, blushing away. I’d always put it down to you fancying Susie, but I get the feeling now it was more about the reading material.’

Feeling himself reddening in embarrassment, Scorpius cringed. ‘Both. It was definitely both.’

* * *

Any other time, Albus would have been delighted to be relieved of washing-up duty. Today, however, he’d rejected his siblings’ offer to do it in his stead, choosing instead to use it as a distraction. As he absent-mindedly scrubbed food from several flowery bowls, he practically hopped from foot to foot with nervous energy, straining his hearing to gauge what was happening in the living room. Raised voices had carried down the hallway for a minute or so, and then silence had fallen as the conversation volume had dropped.

The quiet was maddening.

Albus’s hands trembled as he balanced a bowl precariously on the drying rack, and he swore under his breath as it started to slip off.

‘Woah, got it.’ Ducking inside the kitchen, Teddy saved the day by hastily flicking his wand in an upwards motion, rescuing the falling bowl. ‘You alright?’ he said, peering at Albus.

‘Been better,’ Albus said, teeth gritted as he scrubbed vigorously at a stain on a spoon. ‘They’ve stopped shouting, at least?’ He posed it as a question, not entirely sure the silence was a positive thing.

Teddy raised his eyebrows. ‘Yikes. I never pegged Scorpius for the shouting type.’

Albus managed a small smile despite himself. ‘He isn’t. It takes a lot to get him that worked up. Even when Bertha in the year below spilled dragon bile all over his Potions homework, somehow Scorpius ended up being the one dancing around the common room apologising.’

Teddy laughed. ‘Yeah, that sounds about right.’

‘Trust me, though, you don’t want to see him when he’s angry.’

‘It must be quite a sight.’

‘He lost his temper at me last year,’ Albus admitted guiltily. ‘The one and only time he really, properly has. I was torn between admiration at his ferocity and fearing for my life.’ Albus knew it had all been justified; he’d been a terrible friend at the time, and Scorpius had simply reached the point where he couldn’t hold in his frustration any more. It was in the past, and the conscious effort Albus had made to be a better listener had definitely made a difference, but he still winced at the memory. It haunted him still, occasionally, serving as a constant—and not always welcome—reminder of how self-absorbed he’d been.

‘But yeah, it’s rare. When I think about how much crap he’s put up with, I wonder how he stays so positive.’

Teddy shrugged, smiling. ‘Some people are just wired that way. I bet having you by his side made it easier, though.’ He scuffed his shoe on the doorway, face pointed to the ground. ‘I wouldn’t have got through Seventh Year without James. Or Vic,’ he added, as if it were an afterthought. The laboured sigh that followed sounded so troubled that Albus momentarily put his nerves to one side.

‘You sound upset,’ Albus offered tentatively, picking up a dirty plate, but making no effort to wash it.

‘I dunno,’ Teddy said in a muffled voice, running a hand through his hair. The colour changed in the wake of his hand, shifting from a bright green to a darker shade of blue, the smoothness of the action making it seem he were combing the melancholy colour into his hair. It was a deft, slight of hand trick he’d mastered years ago; Albus had been mesmerised by it when he was younger, but remembered he’d been disappointed when he’d realised brushing his own hand over Teddy’s hair had no effect.

‘We—’ Teddy swallowed, suddenly looking emotional. ‘Vic and I actually broke up last night.’

Albus felt his jaw drop. ‘Wait, what?’

Teddy jerked his shoulders in a non-committal motion and nodded his head.

‘What? When? How did—what?’ Albus was too shocked to form coherent sentences. After a flash of confusion, he felt a weighty surge of guilt. He knew they’d been having a rough patch—he’d have to have been completely dense not to have seen that. But to say he’d been distracted last night was an understatement; he immediately wished he’d been able to offer Teddy comfort sooner.

Albus shook his head to dispel the guilt, dropping everything he was holding in the washing up bowl. ‘How are you feeling, Ted? Are you okay?’ he said, genuine concern in his voice.

Teddy exhaled slowly. ‘I will be. I think we’d both sensed it coming for a while, but I still feel like shit.’ He laughed bitterly, then realised Albus was still regarding him with concern, and his tone became reassuring. ‘It was for the best. I care about her, and I always will, but we’ve just grown apart.’ He shrugged. ‘We were far more casual when we were younger; we’ve always enjoyed each other’s company, but relationship-wise, I think we both knew we always wanted something different. Only now have we started to realise that we couldn’t give it to each other. We’ve been acting awkwardly around each other all summer, especially since she started working at the IMC.’

Seeing Albus’s confused expression, Teddy clarified: ‘International Magic Cooperation at the Ministry. She’s already been fast-tracked up two tiers, so she’ll be travelling the world before we know it. I’m so proud of her—but our relationship going the way it was, I could tell I was just a tether to the past that was holding her back. She wasn’t even surprised when I brought it up yesterday. She seemed almost relieved, actually,’ Teddy finished sadly.

Albus nodded slowly, his heart aching for Teddy. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, feeling it was a slightly pathetic offering, but not knowing how else to console him. ‘If you need anything, we’re here.’

Teddy shot Albus a genuine smile. ‘I know. You guys always are. And I’ll always return the favour,’ he said, laughing sheepishly. ‘I feel like I owe James one after bawling onto his shoulder for the best part of an hour.’ He waved his hand dismissively when Albus made a sympathetic noise. ‘It got it out of my system. I’m not going to start crying on you, don’t worry.’

Albus furrowed his brow. ‘I mean it, though. I know you’ve always been closer with James,’ he said quickly, ‘and that I’m not necessarily the person you’d want to confide in, but you’re like family, Ted, and I—I want to be there if you need me. Or us.’ Albus cringed at his sudden honesty; with everything going on, he felt like he’d lost all filters on his emotional openness. But a part of him was bothered by the fact he hadn’t been able to comfort Teddy; and for once, Albus realised his reaction had been to offer support instead of becoming bitter about the fact that he was the last to know.

As he realised this, Albus registered Teddy’s expression shift to one of surprise, then gratitude. ‘That means a lot, Al,’ Teddy said. He reached over to pat Albus on the back. ‘Enough about me now, though,’ he said, clearly wanting to change the subject. He glanced behind them, and nodded his head in the direction of the hallway leading to the living room. ‘Do you want me to wait with you?’

As much as Albus felt like he wanted to be alone as he worried about Scorpius, he realised it wouldn’t make time go any faster, or make him any less anxious.

‘Yes, please,’ he said appreciatively. Teddy leaned against the sideboard as Albus continued washing up, and they stood together in companionable silence. Teddy reached automatically for his phone twice, but stopped himself both times.

‘I’ve been so on edge this week, constantly checking my phone to see if she’s texted,’ Teddy admitted after a few minutes.

‘No, really?’ Albus said, trying his best to reign in his sarcasm.

Teddy spluttered with laughter. ‘That obvious, huh?’

‘Just a tad. I would’ve said something, but…’ Albus trailed off.

Teddy waved a hand dismissively. ‘No, it’s fine, you’ve been busy hosting. And you’ve… well. Been busy in general.’ He coughed suggestively, and had to dodge as Albus flicked washing-up water at him.

‘I was okay. James managed to snap me out of it most of the time. As you probably know, he’s an expert in distraction tactics. He’s been amazing through all of this, to be honest. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.’ Teddy went quiet for a moment, as if lost in thought.

Before Albus could respond, a distinctive pattering of feet sounded from the hallway. Albus threw down the cutlery he’d been washing, and contorted his hands in a frenzied attempt to remove his rubber gloves. Before he could turn round to face who he was assuming was Scorpius, Albus found himself being embraced from behind by a familiar pair of pale, skinny arms.

‘Scorpius?’

‘Who else would I be?’ Scorpius said, his voice muffled from being pressed into Albus’s back.

‘Well, I was _really_ hoping it wasn’t your dad coming into the kitchen, but I thought I’d make sure.’

As Scorpius laughed into his shirt, Albus spotted Teddy silently creeping back into the garden. He shot Teddy a grateful look, who acknowledged the thanks with a wave, mouthing ‘ _Good luck!’_

Scorpius didn’t initiate conversation, so Albus waited a few moments before tentatively posing the question:

‘How did it go?’

‘Oh, it was nothing, really. Just a small case of convincing Dad that I’m not harming my chances at happiness by loving who I do, and that you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’

Albus stayed silent, waiting for Scorpius to continue.

‘He said some bad things that I’ll need some time to forgive him for,’ Scorpius said, sighing heavily. ‘On the other hand, he also said lots of nice things. Long story short, he’s happy and thinks you’re a good egg. Well, he didn’t use those exact words, but if we were being traditional, let’s just say we have his blessing.’

Albus let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. ‘I was going to say: I can’t imagine your dad uttering the words “good egg” in relation to anyone.’ Albus pulled at Scorpius’s arms, loosening their hold around his waist, and turned around to face Scorpius.

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Albus said sincerely. ‘Are you okay?’

Scorpius thought for a moment, furrowing his brow, then seemed to mentally reach a conclusion. ‘Yeah.’ He tightened his arms around Albus’s waist again and broke into a smile. ‘It wasn’t how I expected things to go down, and I don’t think I’ve got the energy to recount everything at the moment, but I’m okay.’ He sighed heavily once more, and rested his head on Albus’s shoulder.

‘That’s okay,’ Albus murmured. He was itching to know what had been said, but knew Scorpius would tell him when he was ready. More than anything, Albus was just relieved that Draco had given Scorpius some form of reassurance.

‘Besides,’ Scorpius said, ‘I’ve got an entire car journey with Dad later if there are any more conflicts of interest to sort out.’

‘Oh, that’ll be a blast.’

‘Best father-son road-trip ever.’

Albus chuckled, and pressed a casual kiss on Scorpius’s mop of blonde hair. ‘As long as you’re okay.’

Scorpius hummed in agreement, then lifted his head wearily to face Albus again, his eyes glinting. ‘Yeah, I’m good.’

The idea of getting lost in someone’s eyes had always seemed clichéd and unrealistic to Albus, but in this exact moment, as Scorpius’s gaze bore into his, the combination of relief and the feeling of having Scorpius’s arms around him sent his head swimming. He had to inhale sharply to bring himself back to the present, and as he did so, he sensed Scorpius doing the same.

‘Shall we—?’ Albus tilted his head in the direction of the garden, where the rest of his family were now sitting and talking once more.

Scorpius smiled. ‘Yeah. Just got to do one thing first.’

‘What?’

In answer, Scorpius cupped his hand around the back of Albus’s head, pulling him in and pressing their lips together. The action was so careful and gentle that as Albus melted into the kiss, he thought he might pass out; he brought his hands up to Scorpius’s face and neck and held him gently in turn. He hadn’t thought it possible to express so much through actions alone, but as Scorpius raised his hand to stroke Albus’s cheek in response as they kissed, Albus felt a sense of safety and comfort so overwhelming that it made his chest ache. In case Albus had wondered before if it were possible to love someone so much that it physically hurt, his question had definitely been answered now.

‘What was that for?’ Albus said teasingly as they separated, trying—and failing—to disguise his breathlessness.

Scorpius smiled in a sheepish fashion that Albus knew was actually disguised smugness. ‘No reason. Well, partly because you’re cute and I felt like it. That and I wanted to test out the new version of us I had in my head.’

‘Okay then: what does your new version of us look like?’

Scorpius feigned contemplation. ‘It looks very like the version of us where we hug all the time and talk about our feelings, but where we’re actually together, and our family and friends all know about us and are happy for us, and it’s all simple and easy and wonderful.’ He smiled shyly as Albus beamed at him. ‘Oh,’ he added, as if it were an afterthought, ‘and with more of us two making out. A lot more making out.’

‘Cool,’ Albus said, not very coolly. ‘So that puts us on friendship phase… three, now? Out of how many?’

Scorpius spluttered. ‘I’m too emotionally drained to answer that right now. Ask again later.’ He blew Albus a kiss flirtatiously, waved his fingers teasingly, then took Albus’s hand in his, pulling him in the direction of the garden.

Albus let himself be dragged along, deciding firmly that this version of his relationship with Scorpius was definitely the superior version.

Their appearance outdoors was met with several inquisitive stares, everyone seemingly wondering if Scorpius was okay; Albus put his family’s curiosity to rest with a reassuring thumbs-up. As they all nodded and smiled in response, Albus laughed to himself as he realised how quickly he—and everyone else—had adopted Scorpius’s token thumbs-up gesture as the norm. He wondered if Scorpius had noticed.

Scorpius gave a shy wave at the onlookers as he and Albus joined the circle of people and sat down on the picnic blanket spread out by the chairs. ‘Dad’ll be out in a minute,’ he said. ‘He just… needed a moment.’

True enough, Draco emerged a few minutes later, his posture upright and collected, looking for all the world as if he were purposefully making an entrance. The conversation paused for a brief moment as everyone regarded him with what Albus perceived as mild suspicion.

To everyone’s surprise, Harry was the first to move. Immediately, he stood up and offered him a drink. Everyone seemed stunned into silence as Draco took the seat and Harry poured him a glass of wine, and the two men exchanged snarky yet harmless comments about the quality of the drink Draco had bought. Nobody seemed mfore surprised by this behaviour, however, than Ginny, who was regarding her husband with a look of both admiration and relief.

Catching Scorpius’s eye, Albus saw Scorpius looked equally relieved. After raising a surprised eyebrow at Albus, Scorpius caught his dad up to the conversation—which had once again drifted back to Hogwarts, what with it being something both families and both generations had in common.

James and Teddy bickered good-naturedly, James insisting Teddy was actually a terrible student, despite having been Head Boy, and Teddy assuring everyone—not very convincingly—that James was too many years below him to possibly have known. James raised an eyebrow and assured Teddy that he may be a few years younger, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know Teddy better than anyone else. Regarding him with a thoughtful look, Teddy agreed. Teddy tilted his head to one side as James gloated gleefully, and Albus watched as he regarded James curiously, as if he was realising something for the first time.

Lily laughed along with James—who had conceded and was listing the number of N.E.W.T. subjects in which Teddy had received ‘O’s—nudging Teddy playfully, jolting him out of his thoughts. She began gleefully recounting a story from when Teddy was helping her with her first set of holiday homework: his ‘assistance’ had infamously ensured she got every single bit of her History of Magic homework wrong, earning her a solo evening lecture from Professor Binns to catch her up. She had never recovered from the mind-numbing boredom, nor had she forgiven Teddy. It amazed Albus that this had happened a few years ago. Lily was growing up so quickly; she was no longer the ten-year-old standing on the platform at King’s Cross, upset that she wasn’t old enough to go to Hogwarts, which was how Albus perpetually imagined her. Every day she reminded him—and everyone else—more of Ginny, not just in terms of looks, but regarding her unabashed confidence and spirited cheerfulness.

Taking Lily’s lead, Draco, Harry and Ginny began to reminisce enthusiastically about their teachers, classes and revision habits—and expressed their concern at Teddy’s lack therein, assuring Lily that his approach definitely not the best one, despite his good grades—and Albus felt his concentration drifting. The sun was still high in the sky, and the heat was making him drowsy, but not in a bad way—he felt completely at ease, surrounded by his family and with his best friend on possibly the loveliest, warmest day of the year. Now relaxed too, and as if he sensed Albus’s state of mind, Scorpius laid his head on Albus’s shoulder with a contented sigh. Albus rested his head on Scorpius’s in turn, resisting the urge to just close his eyes and let the conversation wash over him.

‘Albus?’

Draco’s voice was calm and quiet, not quite managing to distract the general conversation. Albus looked up, startled, barely resisting the urge to questioningly point at himself to confirm Draco was addressing him.

As if sensing Albus’s confusion, Draco tilted his head behind him. ‘Can I—a word?’

Having to shift Scorpius from his shoulder—much to his protest—Albus stumbled to his feet and trailed after Draco, feeling not so much afraid as uncertain what to expect.

‘Can I be perfectly candid?’ Draco asked politely, his back still turned to Albus.

Albus blinked. In a moment of complete cluelessness, he mistook the word ‘candid’ for the photographic term, and somewhat hysterically imagined taking a selfie with Draco. _That’s a scarily Scorpius-esque thought process,_ Albus mused to himself, before tutting inwardly.

 _Focus, Albus_.

‘Yes?’ he said carefully, not bothering to hide the uncertainty in his voice. If Albus had been unsure about how to act around Draco now, then he definitely had no idea now after what Draco had said to Scorpius.

‘I don’t know if Scorpius has told you what we talked about in the house.’

Albus shook his head slowly, then realised Draco still wasn’t looking at him. ‘No, he hasn’t.’

Draco sighed, then swivelled to face Albus. ‘Let’s just say I responded terribly.’ He paused, looking uncomfortable. ‘I think the two of us have got off on the wrong foot on more than one occasion.’

‘That’s fair to say,’ Albus muttered.

A huff of laughter escaped Draco. ‘Well, I want you to know that what I said to Scorpius was purely from a position of protectiveness. I’m sure that’s something you’ll understand, given how you’ve supported and defended Scorpius through… everything.’ Draco looked at him sincerely. ‘And I don’t doubt for a second you’ll continue to do so. He’s very lucky to have you.’

Albus awkwardly mumbled a thanks, not entirely sure how to respond. Draco hadn’t been joking when he’d mentioned being candid; as much as he looked vaguely pained as he said all of this to Albus, he was definitely keen to make up for lost time.

‘And I want you to know,’ Draco added, ‘that I don’t think for one second that you aren’t well-suited for each other. In fact, I was in favour of you coming to visit long before everything that happened last year, but that idea was… rejected.’ 

_There it is._ Not remotely surprised at the sly dig at his father—he found it reassuring, more than anything; some things would never change—Albus barely restrained himself from snorting with laughter. ‘It’s in the past,’ he said, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could manage.

Draco nodded. ‘Quite. And now I can’t imagine Scorpius having anybody else in his life as important as you.’

‘Thank you. I can’t imagine not having him either,’ Albus managed, feeling quite pleased with himself now. Draco’s approval was never something Albus had sought, especially being intimately familiar with Scorpius’s strained relationship with his father; indeed, Draco had been one of the people Albus felt he had to protect Scorpius from. Now he Draco’s approval, though—and an acknowledgement of how important Scorpius was to him—it felt like a small victory.

‘You do seem to bring out the happiest side of him,’ Draco added after a moment. ‘That said, encouraging him to help you steal a time turner was probably not the wisest move.’

Albus winced guiltily. ‘Probably not,’ he admitted.

Draco looked amused. ‘There’s nothing wrong with encouraging him to rebel occasionally. Before he met you, he’d never even been late for cleaning his teeth in the morning. Maybe let’s start small.’

That coaxed a laugh out of Albus. ‘The day he’s less than fifteen minutes early for a lesson, I’ll let you know.’

The two of them stood awkwardly in silence for a moment, before Draco nodded definitively.

‘Yep. Good talk.’

Albus nodded in return, offering Draco a quick smile before they both strode hastily back over to the family. The relief was radiating off Draco, which would have amused Albus had he not been feeling the same.

Scorpius was looking from Albus to his father questioningly as they walked over, obviously itching to know what had been said. ‘What was all that about?’ Scorpius whispered incredulously to Albus as he lowered himself to the ground next to him.

Shrugging, Albus pretended to think. ‘Oh, you know,’ he said coyly, stretching his arms slowly and deliberately. ‘The predictable stuff: “Break his heart, and I’ll hunt you down with the full might of the Auror Department.”’

Scorpius looked aghast. ‘He’d promised not to do that!’

Albus let Scorpius looked dismayed for a moment longer before he burst out laughing; Scorpius instantly scowled, and elbowed Albus gently. ‘You’re the worst,’ Scorpius muttered good-naturedly.

Chuckling, Albus rested his hand on Scorpius’s knee encouragingly. ‘It was fine. Let’s just say he was _perfectly candid._ ’

‘That doesn’t reassure me,’ Scorpius said, groaning. ‘He always opens with that when he’s about to say what he really thinks.’

‘That is kind of what the phrase means, Scorpius.’ Albus smiled fondly. ‘Well, if he really thinks that I’m a positive influence on you, then I’ll take that.’

Scorpius beamed. ‘Oh, wow. I’ll take that, too. Even though you are a completely terrible influence on me. The worst, in fact.’

‘I’ll remember that next time you want help with something.’

‘What, like destroying reality as we know it?’

They giggled at each other for a few moments, before Scorpius sighed and rested his head on Albus’s shoulder once again.

‘It’s funny thinking that I envisioned today being a disaster,’ Scorpius said quietly after a few minutes. His voice sent reverberations through where Albus was resting his cheek. ‘All things considered, I think it’s turned out a resounding success.’

‘You sound as surprised as I feel,’ Albus said, chuckling.

He felt Scorpius smiling. ‘Something actually went right for us, for once.’

Scorpius lifted his head from Albus’s shoulder questioningly.

‘I think I know why,’ Albus murmured softly. ‘Everything that’s gone well this week has something in common.’

Scorpius blinked at him.

‘You know I mean you, right?’

‘Yes, I know.’ Scorpius looked uncharacteristically smug. ‘I just wanted to hear you say it.’

Albus rolled his eyes. ‘Haven’t you had enough of me being a complete sap this week?’

Shaking his head, Scorpius grinned. ‘Never. I expect this level of emotional maturity to be maintained for the duration of our relationship.’

Albus laughed as Scorpius flung his arm around his shoulder. ‘Nah, I’m far too grumpy and emotionally repressed to keep this up for much longer. Especially without you around all the time.’ He tried and failed to keep the sadness out of his voice; hearing it, Scorpius pouted and pulled him close.

‘I wish you didn’t have to go,’ Albus said quietly.

Scorpius hummed in agreement, stroking Albus’s arm comfortingly. ‘Me too. You’ll be fed up with me soon enough when we’re back in school,’ he added cheerily. ‘Just wait until the homework starts pouring in. It’ll see the unleashing of everyone’s favourite version of me: Scorpius the Woefully Disorganised.’

Albus winced. ‘Changed my mind. In my love-induced haze, I forgot about the chaos that is you attempting to manage workloads.’ He patted Scorpius’s hand fondly. ‘I’ll give you until your first Arithmancy assignment. Better make the most of me until then.’

Spluttering indignantly that he’d been joking, Scorpius began defensively listing examples of his ‘excellent organisational skills’, which Albus knew wasn’t convincing anyone, but enjoyed regardless. His eyes darted around him, falling on each of his family members in turn, before he briefly made eye contact with Harry. His father smiled; then, his eyes flickering to Scorpius, who still had a protective arm around Albus, Harry gave a subtle thumbs-up gesture, as if in approval, then returned his attention to the conversation.

Albus grinned. When he’d thought before about Scorpius’s positive influence, Albus hadn’t considered it would endure beyond Scorpius’s stay. But if he’d learned anything this week, it was that his family were proud of him and loved him for who he was, and now they’d welcomed Scorpius into their family with open arms, Albus almost felt as if the same had happened to him—though on reflection, they had always been on his side; only now was he seeing it. Finally happy in the knowledge that he had both his family and the love of his best friend, Albus felt invincible.

‘So… just how early is _too_ early to start packing for Christmas?’ Scorpius murmured out of the blue as conversation hummed around them.

‘Never,’ Albus said, smiling. ‘I’d start packing immediately, just to be sure.’

* * *

Laughing to himself at one of James’s impressions of his teachers, Harry’s gaze fell once more on his son and Scorpius, who were lounging on the picnic blanket, talking and laughing and regarding each other with unveiled adoration. Any other time and Harry would’ve been inclined to involve them in the general conversation, but they looked content in their own world, so he let them be. He smiled fondly at how happy Albus looked, and turned his attention to Draco sitting next to him.

‘From what I gathered, your reaction to your son’s romantic choices left a lot to be desired,’ Harry said in an undertone, hiding his mouth behind the glass of wine so he wasn’t overheard by anyone else.

Draco shuffled in his chair uncomfortably. ‘You could say that,’ he said crisply. 

‘Care to elaborate?’

‘If you’re concerned by whether or not I’d allow Scorpius to be with your son, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not so bitter about the fact we haven’t always got along that I’d stop them being together.’

Harry’s breath whistled through his teeth in a surprised exhale, and Draco smirked as he realised he’d hit a nerve. ‘That wasn’t actually aimed at you, believe it or not,’ Draco added, chuckling to himself. ‘Not everyone is out to get you.’

Harry sniffed, electing to be the bigger person and push past the unintentional jibe. ‘Nor is everyone out to get you. Or Scorpius, for that matter.’

Draco was quiet for a moment; Harry sighed and awkwardly ran his thumb around the rim of his wine glass.

‘It’s just hard knowing how and when to stop worrying about him,’ Draco said finally, sounding defeated.

Shrugging, Harry spoke gently: ‘Trust me, after fathering three children—and Teddy—I can tell you that you’ll never stop worrying. It’s more a case of realising you can trust them to make their own decisions. Look at Albus: the second I stop questioning his every move, he’s thriving.’

Draco looked thoughtful. ‘You could definitely say that. I haven’t seen Scorpius look this happy since Astoria. Maybe because he didn’t feel he could be himself around me.’

Harry gestured with his glass to Albus and Scorpius, smiling as Scorpius gaped his mouth incredulously at something Albus said, and launched into an emphatic rant about something, gesturing wildly as Albus cackled with laughter. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’d describe this as being himself.’

Regarding his son with a contemplative look, Draco hummed in agreement, a small smile creeping across his face. ‘This has been a very positive development.’ He raised his glass expectantly in Harry’s direction.

Harry clinked his glass with Draco’s. ‘Truly—for all of us.’

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I can't believe it's finally finished! This fic has been my baby for a long time now, and I'd like to thank all my wonderful friends who have put up with me writing—and procrastinating from writing—this beast for the last few years. I love you all ❤ 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this work. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.


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